Metal Gear Xander
by burgstel
Summary: Xander dresses as a famous FOXHOUND soldier that infamous Halloween and world will never be the same again. Abandoned due to lack of time and interest. Anyone who wants to continue or use it as a base for their own fiction has permission to do so.
1. Chapter 1 Yet Another Costume

A/N – I saw that SirWill posted a BTVS / MGS cross on the Twisting the Hellmouth Fan Fiction website and I thought I might have a crack at Xander dressing as Solid Snake in a YAHF story format.

A/N 2 – I have reused some material from my previous fics **Captain Xander** in particular in an attempt to get the story going quickly, but I intend to use original material once the story is underway.

A/N 3 – Anyone who is interested I recommend checking out SirWills **Metal Gear Sunnydale** (2008) story as posted on .org as it is rather good

A/N 4 - Yes i know its a YAHF, this damned YAHF bug is so addictive i'm having trouble kicking it lol.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (YET ANOTHER HALLOWEEN FIC)

METAL GEAR XANDER

CHAPTER ONE – YET ANOTHER COSTUME

Xander walked around mentally cursing to himself that he was now forced to buy a costume, courtesy of the troll of a principal at Sunnydale High School. He now found himself inside a new costume shop by the name of Ethan's which had just opened recently in Sunnydale and most the kids at Sunnydale were raving about it.

Xander continued to look around the shop for a nice costume that would somehow fit within his pitiful budget. He sighed, as he gazed upon many costumes that he would like, but even at a discount shop like Ethan's were still beyond the measly twenty dollars he had in his wallet.

He gazed upon various costumes that he wished he had enough for. An Air Force Colonel costume which looked like it came directly from NORAD, a Duke Nukem costume, a batman suit from DC comics as well as a McGvyer outfit, complete with full mullet wig. These costumes were all still available but were way too expensive for him. There was even an Emperor Palpatine costume from Star Wars.

But considering he was living on the Hell Mouth, there was no way he would even consider dressing up as such a powerful villain, despite that villain being from one of the coolest movie franchises in the history of Hollywood. He kept pouring over the various costumes even as he couldn't help but over hear a part of the conversation between Buffy and his best bud, Willow.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't really know what his type his is." Buffy asked Willow nervously as the pair of them was looking over a gorgeous 18th Century dress. Such a dress would have been likely worn by a noblewoman during that time period.

"I"ve known him less than a year and if you hadn't noticed, he isn't exactly the type to over share." The Slayer moaned as she continued to examine the dress in detail.

"But Buffy, I think it would look great on you! And wasn't Angel born in that time period too? You know before he became a vampire and evil and stuff." Willow replied as she babbled relentlessly as she had a habit to do so.

It was at that point that Xander decided to tune out. Hearing his girls talk about Deadboy and what his possible likes and dislikes were, was definitely a major turn off in his book. It was at that point Xander saw THE costume. It was the costume of the major character from the playstation one video game known as Metal Gear Solid, but Xander was afraid it was well past his price range. This character was his and Jesse's favourite. They both got into arguments over who would be the best 'Solid Snake'. Or at least they did before Jesse got killed and turned by a vampire.

It was Solid Snake's costume alright. Complete with bullet proof sneaking vest, dark coloured bandanna, thermal infrared goggles, a pack of military rations, some replica chaff grenades as well as a fully plastic imitation SOCOM pistol with the obligatory laser sight and silencer. Hell, the costume even came with a pack of cigarettes! Xander sighed while looking at the costume. There was no way in hell that he could afford such a fantastic costume.

"Can I help you there, young man?" Asked a British voice coming directly behind him. Startled out of his daydreams, Xander quickly spun around and exclaimed

"Arrrrrrrgh! Don't do that! You scared the crap out of me!"

"I sincerely apologise for the fright my young sir. My name is Ethan Rayne and I'm the owner of this establishment and I couldn't help but notice that you were taking a liking to this particular costume." The British store owner replied with a bit of a smirk.

"You know you shouldn't sneak up on people like that! Especially in this town!" Xander complained.

Ethan mentally smirked in response, as he responded to the young man's complaint.

"Again I must apologise. It won't happen again my good sir. Perhaps I could help you in some way? I believe I can help you with that particular costume if you like."

"Oh. Well thanks very much for the offer, but there's no way I could afford something like this I'm afraid. I'm kinda strapped for cash at the moment." Xander replied somewhat disheartened and a bit sadly.

Ethan frowned somewhat as he heard the young man's downcast reply. Ethan had known the young man was a friend of Ripper and wanted to get him a costume that would make this Halloween a 'night to remember'. So Ethan had decided he would give this young lad a discount. Since the costume was plainly an American one, Ethan had no idea who the character was it had 'belonged' too. In hindsight, if Ethan had realised, he would have had second thoughts at enchanting this costume. Still, he had no idea and felt compelled to offer the young man a good deal.

"Nonsense, my boy! I'm sure we can come up with a deal that can suit both of us!" Ethan said as he tried to keep the evil smirk off his face, as he was only too aware such a smirk might tip the young man, the slayer and the red head off to his evil intentions.

"But it looks way too expensive and I only have twenty dollars…" Xander started to moan before he was interrupted by Ethan.

"Look son perhaps you don't really want to buy it. How about renting it for one night? Say for twenty dollars?" Ethan responded as he tried to get the young man to accept the deal.

"Really rent it for twenty dollars? What's the catch?" Xander asked as he started to get a bad feeling that something wasn't right at this shop.

"The only catch as you Americans would say, is too tell everyone where you got it. Small shops like mine depend on advertising as well as the word of mouth. What do you say young man?" Ethan responded as he soothed the suspicions of the young man.

"Sure Mr Rayne! You've got a deal!" Xander responded as he realised he's got a sweet deal and would no longer be a laughing stock like he had been in years past due to his pitiful budget. His suspicions faded to the back of his mind as he was just too happy with the deal he just got to really think the matter through properly.

"Please follow me to the register and I will ring you up." Ethan said even as he gestured for Xander to follow him to the store's counter.

"Sure."

While Xander followed Ethan to the counter with the newly rented Solid Snake costume, Buffy and Willow were still talking to one side of the store. Buffy had just decided on the noblewoman dress, while Willow being Willow had just picked up a classic ghost costume from one of the shelves.

"A Ghost costume Willow? Isn't that a bit plain?" Buffy sighed.

"But it's a time honoured classic!" Willow protested.

"Willow, can I give you a little piece of advice?" Buffy asked Willow.

"It's not spooky enough?" Willow replied somewhat hesitantly.

"It's just that well….you're never going to get noticed if you keep hiding. You just seem to be missing the whole point of Halloween." Buffy stated before sighing.

"Ummm lots of free candy and chocolate?" Willow asked.

Buffy sighed again as she started to get a little bit frustrated. She knew that Willow had a big crush on Xander. It was pretty obvious.

_Hell, it was pretty obvious to the entire school bar the one person that really mattered. I had really hoped that Xander would get over that silly crush he had on myself and really looked at what he could truly have with her best friend Willow. Boys could really be dense and dumb sometimes._

The slayer thought to her self, even as she began to counter Willow's last point.

"Willow, it's come as you aren't night on Halloween. It's the perfect chance for a girl to get sexy and wild with no repercussions."

"But Buffy! I don't get wild. Wild on me equals 'spaz'." Willow protested as she started to turn a bit red and begin to hyperventilate.

"I know you've got it in you, Will. You're just scared and lacking a little bit of confidence." Buffy replied as she tried to boost Willow's self confidence and self worth.

Xander had at that moment just taken the opportunity to walk over to the girls, with his newest acquisition packed neatly into two carry all bags. Willow noticed Xander coming over and seized her chance to change the subject.

"Hey Xander. What did you get?" She asked, even as Buffy began to pout as she realised what Willow was up to.

"It's a surprise Wills. Guess you and the Buffster just have to wait till Halloween. So Wills, have you picked out your ghost costume yet?" Xander asked innocently. In reply Willow held up the packet she had just taken from the shelves.

"That's my Wills! Always going for the classics." Xander remarked before Buffy butted in.

"Xander! Don't you think that Willow should try something else for a change?" The Slayer tried.

"Not going to happen, Buffster. Willow's gone as a ghost for Halloween the last five Halloweens in a row. Isn't that right Wills?" Xander asked with a cheesy grin on his face.

"You, betcha Mister!" Willow quickly agreed even while Buffy began to sigh quietly so neither of her two best friends could over hear.

"So Buffster, what did you get?" Xander asked even while Buffy began to hold up dress that he had overheard the girls talking about before.

"Too bulky, I prefer my woman in spandex! Or at the very least some stealth sneaking suits!" Xander mocked complained even as both girls slapped him on the arms in mock anger.

"Xander!" both chorused in 5.1 stereo, even as Xander started to rub his arms.

"What did I say? And owww! Slayer Strength!" Xander complained.

Buffy was holding the dress up again when Ethan Rayne, the shop owner approaches the owner.

_Perfect! What chaos I could cause if I can get the Slayer to buy that dress! She would be nothing more than a helpless, screaming and totally witless 18th Century noblewoman!_

Ethan smirked mentally to himself as he approached the slayer with a devilish glint in his eye and began to help Buffy with the noblewoman's dress.

"Please, let me." Ethan said as he offered his assistance.

"It's…" Buffy began before she was interrupted.

"Magnificent, I know. I bet you would look like a real princess in this dress." Ethan complimented the Slayer in the hopes he could talk her into buying it.

"I'm sorry but there's no way I could afford this." The slayer replied a bit sadly.

"Nonsense, my dear. I've already done a deal with your friend there." Ethan said as he pointed to Xander. "And there's no reason why I can't make a deal with you too."

"Really?" Buffed asked even while she was trying not to get her hopes up.

"Yes, really. I feel moved to make you an offer that you just can't refuse." Ethan replied as he led the Slayer to the register counter.

Willow quickly followed Buffy and Ethan towards the counter so that she could pay for her ghost costume, while Xander waited patiently by the door with his own 'purchases'. Soon, all purchases had been paid for and the trio quickly left the shop, not knowing what the fates as well as the Chaos Mage Ethan Rayne had in store for them.

END OF CHAPTER ONE


	2. Chapter 2  Unleashing the Chaos

CHAPTER TWO – UNLEASHING THE CHAOS

Ethan Rayne making his preparations in the back of the costume shop. He was wearing a dark robe, inscribed with all manner of powerful, dark and magical runes. These runes would soon help in the casting of a particular spell he had in mind. One he had sincerely hoped would affect Ripper's young charges.

Ethan was working inside the back store room of his shop, where no customer was permitted to see. In here he had already set up the alter to the roman god of Janus, the god of chaos and changer of ways and new beginnings. He had various candles upon the said alter and all around the back room, where he was currently in the process of lighting them all.

Most people wouldn't think too much of a simple act of lighting candles, but in this case the candles in question were BLACK candles. Candles normally associated with evil magic and the dark arts.

As the light of the candles began to spread, Ethan took in the view and saw that he now had the correct number of candles, both around the room and both on and around the alter, forming a circle of sort around said alter. Upon the alter was a marble bust of Janus. One side and a woman's face, her features were placid and beautiful while the other side had a man's face both hideous and permanently scarred in a stated of pure evil. Current the face of the woman was towards Ethan even as he knelt down and not only prayed towards Janus, but to cast his spell as well.

As part of his preparations for the spell, Ethan got a ceremonial knife, imbued with runes of dark magic through the silver blade of the knife. He put the blade to the palms of both hands and made a cut in both, offering his blood as part of a sacrifice needed to start powering the spell Ethan had intended to cast his Halloween night.

Ethan, once he pored a few drops of blood onto the alter and into the circle of black candles, knelt before the bust of Janus and began to pray to his chaos god.

"Oh Janus, the world that denies thee, thou doeth inhabit."

"The peace that ignores thee, thou doeth corrupth."

"Chaos. As ever, I am your faithful, degenerate son."

With the final act in casting the spell, Ethan dabs some blood from his bleeding palms onto his eyelids. He then crosses it on to his forehead. He begins to wait.

Ethan doesn't have to wait long before he is heard by his god. The bust of Janus begins to glow a dark, evil and bright green. It began to glow an insane intensity that forces Ethan to look away for a moment. When the glow died down, and Ethan had a chance to look back at the alter, the bust of Janus had the face of the evil and hideous male face looking towards him. And somewhere deep within his corrupted soul, Ethan knew that his prier had been heard by his god.

"Well then old Ripper and his friends. Shall I say, let the games of mayhem now begin!" Ethan stated out loud. He then smirked an evil smirk and began to chuckle to himself.

**Somewhere else in Sunnydale, at the exact moment Ethan cast his spell…**

It would now be ever remembered by the so called 'Scooby' gang as the night that Chaos came to the town of Sunnydale. Screams could be heard almost everywhere you went on the fateful night. Car alarms rang out in the distance as parked cars were damaged and trashed by the Chaos going on all around them. Panicked kids and their parents who were not wearing any of Ethan's enchanted costumes quickly ran for cover, as despite the so-called 'Sunnydale Syndrome' they realized that something was seriously wrong.

Xander was currently standing alone on the footpath. He was leading his group of kids when the spell took effect. He felt dizzy for a moment before it began to clear. All of a sudden he began to take on a posture that was ramrod straight, which positively screamed military. Xander looked around confused. By it was his body that looked around, not Xander himself as he had now been possessed by the soul and spirit of the famous video game character known only as 'Solid Snake'.

_What the hell is going on here? And where the fuck is this? Last thing I knew I was fighting Liquid Snake hand-to-hand on the top of Metal Gear Rex deep in the Nuclear Disposal Facility on Shadow Moses Island in the Alaskan Archipelago and now I'm in some Southern Californian Town? What the Hell? Better check on my equipment, just in case this was another one of Liquid's tricks._

The man known as Solid Snake quickly took an inventory of his current equipment and weaponry. He was reassured to find that he still had his trusty SOCOM with him, along with a few chaff grenades and his combat knife. He also still had his thermal infrared goggles, some left over military rations and his lucky pack of cigarettes!

_Well it's better than nothing I suppose. I've gone up against higher and more dangerous odds with little more than this. I just glad the mag in the SOCOM is full. So I have at least some ammo, not that it's a lot – but it's enough until I can do some OSP of more weapons._

Solid Snake's thoughts were interrupted by a thin red headed girl who had come up to him in a slight panic, but was addressing him a weird name that Snake had never heard of before.

"Xander!" Willow exclaimed as Solid Snake turned to this girl and quickly responded

"Meryl? What are you doing here? How did you get away from Liquid? What the Hell?" A very confused Snake asked the red headed girl who was dead set spitting image of the solider known as Meryl Silverburgh.

"Hey! My name's not Meryl mister! It's Willow. Willow Rosenberg! Don't you remember me Xander?" A stunned and confused Willow asked her friend.

"Sorry miss I'm afraid I don't know who or what a "Xander' is. My name is Snake. Solid Snake."

"Xander quit your joking please! This is a serious situation happening here! This is not the time to be fooling around!" Willow scolded.

"I'm sorry again but I don't know why you insist on calling me Xander, but I have no idea what you're talking about." Snake replied with a frown.

"But Xander it's me. It's Willow!" Willow protested. But knew it was hopeless. Something funny was going on, she was sure of it.

"Sorry miss but again I have to say I do not know any Willow either! The only red head I know goes by the name of Meryl Silverburgh." Snake replied, even as he swallowed a small lump at the back of his throat.

_If this isn't Meryl, she's probably her twin sister or something. Meryl never mentioned having a sister before! But that still leaves Meryl in the hands of that bastard Liquid! She better be alive by the time I get back or that bastard Liquid Snake better have a damned good life insurance policy. I will make him pay if he even harms a single hair on Meryl's head! _Snake thought viciously.

"Xander this is no time for jokes! And I have no idea who this Meryl is, but it isn't anyone you or I know!"

"Sorry miss but I am not really joking." Solid Snake sighed at the antics of this girl.

"You really don't know me? Oh god, you've turned into your costume!" Willow exclaimed.

"Turned into a costume? What the hell are you talking about lady? Are you nuts?" Snake claimed in confused as he eyed this crazy girl warily.

_Another thing Meryl forgot to mention to me. That her sister was completely and utterly nuts! _Snake mentally thought as he sized up this strange girl talking to him.

"Then I'm guessing that you really don't know me now?" Willow asked haphazardly.

"Sorry, but no. This is the first time we have met I believe and I highly recommend that we find somewhere safe or take some cover, as this place is a bit chaotic at the moment. Then we work out what the hell is going on here." Snake grumbled.

Willow sighed as she realized something fishy was going on. She had dressed up as a ghost and now it appears she truly was a ghost. Xander dressed up as Solid Snake from one of his and Jesses' favourite video games. Could it be now that Xander was now that video game hero? Or did he only think he was?

She then noticed that 'Xander' starting to sneak off, but Willow started to get in his way.

"No wait!" She pleaded even as 'Xander' walked straight through her. This in turn made Solid Snake pause in shock and truly think something strange was going on. He quickly pulled up his SOCOM and aimed it at Willow.

_Not that the SOCOM is going to be any good. If I can pass through her without any harm to her, chances are the bullets are going to do the same thing! Still, it's best not to take any chances! _Snake thought in surprise and shock.

"What the? How did I manage to walk straight through you? What the hell are you? Is this one of Psycho Mantis's tricks? That can't be! I saw him die!" Solid Snake asked in puzzlement and with a lot of suspicion even as continued to aim his SOCOM at the girl.

"No wait! I mean no harm! Look Snake. It's a bit hard to explain. I dressed up as a ghost tonight and now I guess I'm really a ghost. You are my best friend 'Xander' and he dressed up as Solid Snake and now I guess you really are Solid Snake." Willow explained.

"Are you sure lady, because that explanation sounds absolutely nuts." Snake replied, not believing the insane explanation that the girl had just given him.

"Then how else did you manage to walk through me if I wasn't a ghost?" Willow challenged.

"I'm not sure. You could be another of Psycho Mantis' illusions." Solid Snake answered even as he frowned.

"But didn't you just say you saw this Psycho Mantis die?" Willow asked reasonably.

"Yeah I did. But I could be wrong. I've been known to be wrong a few times before." Snake replied somewhat slowly as he struggled to understand what was going on.

Willow sighed and finally lost her patience. She pointed to a side mirror of a nearby car and said

"If you don't believe me, just look into that side mirror of that car there."

"Why?"

"Please just do it. It may make things a bit clearer to you." Willow sighed as she answered the very suspicious Solid Snake.

"I'll even step back and give you some space, if that's what it takes." Willow said as she stepped back a few yards in an attempt to sooth Snake's suspicions.

"Fine. But this doesn't mean I believe you and your crazy story." Snake grunted in replied even as he did what he was told by this strange girl. Snake took one look in the mirror and got the shock of his life. The face of the man looking back at him was not his own. In fact, the man had different colored eyes and looked to be only 16 or 17 years old.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Snake yelled.

END OF CHAPTER TWO


	3. Chapter 3 The Chaos continues

CHAPTER 3 – THE CHAOS CONTINUES

Snake looked into the car's side mirror's reflection in shock. He was truly not who he thought himself to be. It looked like he was some 16 or 17 year old year, not some battle hardened special operations solider that had went through numerous campaigns both for his country and for the special operations group otherwise known as FOXHOUND.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Snake yelled out in shock as he looked at his own reflection.

_Damn it! It looks like Meryl…ahem this Willow is telling me the truth after all, no matter how insane it sounds. Me? A simple, video game character? What the hell? Last time I checked I was very much alive thank you very much! I bet if I told my old Colonel Roy Campbell about tonight's events, he would either laugh at me for trying to pull a fast one or have me locked up by Doctor Naomi Hunter! _Snake thought, as his mind was struggling to comprehend what was going on.

Suddenly a Snake heard a noise from one side. He turned away from the car mirror and saw that a little Vampire was rushing out of some nearby bushes and was in fact looking likely to attack them. Willow saw the Solid Snake take a defensive stance even as he was prepared to fire his SOCOM at the creature.

"No wait! That's only a little kid in that costume! Please don't kill him!" Willow cried out as she realized what Snake was about to do.

"Hmm a little kid you say? Not some strange creature? I suppose he changed just like us?" Snake asked incredulously at Willow.

"Yes!"

"*Sigh* Very well I will do my best do discourage the creature without hurting it too much."

With that reply the 'creature' attacked. But Solid Snake, after re-holstering his SOCOM, was easily able to dodge its blows and forced the creature back with some mild hand-to-hand combat techniques he had learned from Gray Fox when he had first served with FOXHOUND during the Outer Heaven Revolt in 1995. Snake's combat expertise forced the 'Vampire' back at least five feet with a simple judo flip, even with Solid Snake trying not to hurt it unduly. The 'Vampire' growled back at Snake before determining that this prey was too dangerous and decided to run off to seek much easier prey.

While Solid Snake was fighting off the 'Vampire', Willow noticed something or someone further down the street which had caught the red head's attention.

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed of a sudden.

"I'm sorry?" Snake asked as he turned to Willow after the 'Vampire' had ran off.

Then he turned to see the said 'Buffy' stumbling down the street somewhat dazed and disoriented, wearing it appeared to be an 18th Century noblewoman's dress.

"Buffy is mine and Xander's friend Snake! We have to help her!" Willow explained.

"Very well." Snake agreed, knowing it was part of his job to protect civilians.

"Buffy! Are you alright?" Willow asked her friend in concern.

"What?" Buffy replied in confusion.

"Are you hurt?" Solid Snake asked the girl who looked a bit dazed to his keen senses.

"Are you hurt Buffy?" Willow asked as well.

"Buffy? Who's Buffy?" The girl who was Buffy asked in response to their questions.

"Oh no. I guess she's not Buffy!" Willow said, as she realized Buffy too was possessed by her costume.

"I take it this is your friend Buffy then." Solid Snake stated.

"Yeah. But normally she's much more attentive and action oriented than this." Willow replied a bit sadly.

"What year is this? What is this place? And who is that funny looking man?" Buffy rambled off some quick questions to the strange people in front of her.

"We're friends Buffy." Willow responded.

"Friends of whom? And who is this Buffy you keep mentioning?" Buffy asked again in confusion.

"And how did I get here to this strange looking place?"

"Right, then. We should NOW get to somewhere safe first and then we can talk this over." Snake stated as he realized that standing around in the open, on a night like this, was just bound to get them into trouble.

"Where should we go good sir?" A nervous noblewoman asked Solid Snake, even as she performed an old fashioned courtesy to the strange man.

"Willow, any ideas? Like perhaps to your friends' homes maybe?" Solid Snake both asked and suggested at the same time.

"Buffy's! We can go to Buffy's! That's the closest place to here!" Willow suggested.

"Buffy's?" The nervous noblewoman and Solid Snake asked.

_Buffy's? What the hell? That name sounds like it belongs to a strip club or some local pub! _Snake thought very quietly and discreetly to himself, as not wanting to upset his companions.

"Buffy's house snake. We can go to Buffy's house. It's just down the road, not too far away from here and Buffy has a spare key under the doormat so we can use that to get in."

"Very good, Willow. Lead the way to the house. It is better we get off the streets at the moment with all this chaos going on around us." Snake warned.

And with that, Willow led Solid Snake down the street towards the direction of Buffy's house, with the noblewoman Buffy following behind the pair. Snake was thinking of a way he could possible get out of this strange situation. During his service with FOXHOUND he had been in many dangerous and hairy situations. But this might be possibly the strangest one he had ever been in.

_Damn this situation is all FUBAR. Never in my time have I been on a mission with undefined objectives, unidentified hostiles, armed with minimal weapons and ammo while minding a few civilians to look after too boot. I'm sure that this 'ghost' Willow might be safe from harm, but this 'Buffy' looks afraid of her own shadow! She would be pretty useless in a fight from what I've seen so far. Here's hoping we don't run into any more hostiles on our way to cover. _Snake thought grimly as the small group made their way to Buffy's home.

**Meanwhile at an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the town of Sunnydale...**

The dark room within the run down industrial factory on the outskirts of Sunnydale is awash with blue light that emits from a bank of televisions lining one wall completely from left to right.

The master vampire known as Spike, one of the four vampires who formed the group known as the Scourge of Europe and one of his pitiful vampire minions who just happened to have been turned within the last year or so and specialized in modern media and technology, were watching as an image flickers to life on the numerous screens. It showed an image of a battle of the current Vampire Slayer known as Buffy Summers as she fought against some vampires in a common garden and pumpkin patch.

Spike watches the tape playing on the numerous screens with single minded concentration with a hint of borderline obsession going along with the ride. As Spike watched, the image of Buffy felled onto a pumpkin. As one of the vampire minions lunged forward and attacked, Buffy quickly got up, grabbed the pumpkin and then smashes the said vegetable into the minion's face.

"Impressive. Rewind that. I want to see it again." Spike commanded his minion. Spike paces about as his minion did as he was told. Spike then viewed the footage again.

"Okay, that is indeed impressive." Spike admitted, somewhat reluctantly. It was at this time that his insane sire and sear decided to put her two cents worth in.

"Spike, she's tricky. The baby likes to play." Drusilla stated. Spike ignores her comment at this time and orders his minion to play the whole footage again.

The video plays again. This time Spike points to the part where the Vampire Slayer breaks a basic human sign and stakes another vampire through the heart with the broken end of the post of the sign. Spike views the footage with an intense look upon his face. He hadn't realized it yet, but he had vamped out.

"See that? Where see stakes him with that thing? That's what you call **resourceful**_._" Spike pointed out to his minion. The said minion could only nod as he too saw the same footage as his master. This slayer was going to be tough to kill.

"Spiky…..Miss Edith needs her tea." Drusilla muttered dreamily, as the insane vampire drifted off into another one of her insane tangents. Spike shrugged his shoulders a bit before sighing. Drusilla had wondered in the room carrying one of her precious dolls with her. She had a pout and dreamy look upon her face as she walked up towards Spike.

Spike welcomes her - but his attention stays on the video of Buffy slaying the Vampire minions within the pumpkin patch.

"Come here, poodle." Spike says to his sire even as she wafts him. He then puts his arms around her.

"Do you love my insides? Even the parts you can't see?" Drusilla asks Spike.

"Eyeballs to entrails, my dear Drusilla. That's why I have to study this slayer."

"Why's that Spiky?"

"Well sweet once I know her, then I can kill her. And once the Slayer is dead, you can have your run of Sunnydale and get strong again my love." Spike replied even as Drusilla drifted off again, only this time the seer was getting another one of her visions.

"Spiky you don't need to worry. Ms Edith says that Every thing is switching. Outside to inside, to make her weak."

Spike had noticed Drusilla's funny look and had heard her cryptic words. Previously experience with his sire told him that Drusilla was having another one of her visions. It quickly got Spike's attention.

"Really love. Did my pet have a vision?"

"Do you know what I miss? Leeches." Drusilla mention at random as she went off on another one of her insane tangents.

"Come on talk to daddy. This thing, that makes the Slayer weak. When is it?" Spike said as he tried to coax more information out of the seer.

"Tonight Spiky. It's all ready happening. Can't you feel it my love?"

"Tonight is Halloween my pet. Nothing happens on Halloween." Spike said in confusion.

"Someone's has changed it all. Someone, new. But we must beware of the nasty Snake because he will bite us if we try to hurt the slayer." Drusilla replied.

"A, Snake? Who's going to bite us? Surely it can't be Peeches?" Spike asked with a groan as the mere though of his grand sire Angel made him sick.

"The Snake is not daddy, Spiky. He is someone new and some one old. All foxy and runs with the hounds." Drusilla replied, even though she was mad, she really tried to convey the seriousness of this warning to Spike. But as usual Spike knew better and just ignored this cryptic warning, figuring there was no way any Snake wanker would be able to harm him.

"No worries my love. I will take care of this Snake whoever he is and then we can all have some crumpets and tea my sweet."

"Really Spiky? Truly and really?" Drusilla asked.

"I promised my sweet. I cross my non-bleeding, un-dead heart." Spike replied as he soothed his sire and lover.

"I'll head out very soon my love. Then I'm going to kill this wanker Snake, then bag my third Slayer! Then you will be able to go out and about again my love!" Spike told Drusilla.

END OF CHAPTER THREE


	4. Chapter 4 Halloween Madness Part I

CHAPTER FOUR – HALLOWEEN MADNESS PART I

Snake managed to find the spare key underneath the door mat and quickly opened the front door to the Summers' residence. He then quickly ushered in the nervous noblewoman and the 'ghost' Willow. Once the pair was safely inside, Snake quickly closed the front door and secured it behind them.

_Though strictly speaking, Willow at the moment didn't really need to use a key to enter here. If objects can pass through her at the moment, surely the reverse is true and she can pass through objects. _Snake mentally reasoned. _Thus she really doesn't need to use a door or anything else to gain entry here. True, this Buffy would need a key to gain entry, but thanks to the training I received from both FOXHOUND and Gray Fox himself, I could pick the lock to that door in less than ten seconds flat!_

"Okay miss, do you mine telling me now just what the hell is going on around here?" Snake grumbled as he asked the red headed girl, who for all intents and purposes could pose as Meryl's biological twin sister.

"Well it's kinda of complicated Xander." Willow stated nervously.

"Oh for crying out loud! My name is not Xander. For the last time its Snake. Solid Snake." Snake complained.

"Oh." Willow could only manage to reply.

"What kind of name is Solid Snake, my good sir?" A nervous and confused Buffy noblewoman asked.

"It's a code name miss that's used by various members of a special operations group known as FOXHOUND." Snake explained.

"FOXHOUND?" Willow asked, curious as to who her friend was at the moment and what this 'person' did.

"Well its kind of classified miss. But what I can tell you is that FOXHOUND is essentially an elite US high tech special forces unit that specializes in black ops as well as counter terrorism activities." Snake explained.

"So what exactly does this group do?" An intrigued noblewoman asked.

"Sorry madam, that is classified information and on a need to know basis only. And you and Miss Rosenberg here don't need to know." Snake replied.

"Oh." Both the girls replied, somewhat frustrated that Snake wouldn't tell them any more.

"But back to my original question Miss. Just what the hell is going on in this town? And do you mind filling me in on all the necessary intelligence?" Snake asked Willow.

"Well…this is going to be kinda hard to explain…" A nervous Willow started to say.

"Try me." Snake replied as he was determined to find out what was happening.

"Well do you remember what you saw in the side mirror of that parked car?" Willow asked.

"Yes. *Sigh* All too well I'm afraid."

"Do you believe you are not what you think you are?" Willow asked.

"Normally not, but current evidence would support otherwise." Snake grumbled.

"We all dressed up as various costumes, and now we appear to be those said costumes. Both Xander and my friend Buffy are now possessed by the spirits of the costumes they wore tonight."

"And how the hell is that possible anyways? Assuming, that I believe all this nonsense. How can costume spirits possess people like this?"

"Well my guess it's either been done by magical means or something hell mouthy is going on." Willow answered.

"Magic? Hell mouthy? What the hell?" A confused Snake asked.

At the mere mention of magic, the noblewoman Buffy flinched back at the sight of the red headed girl.

"Witch! Witch! She's a Witch! We must report her to the local vicar at once!" The noblewoman protested even as she started to hyperventilate even while trying to hide behind Solid Snake for protection.

"Surely you will protect me from this harlot my good sir?" Buffy asked Snake somewhat timidly while using Snake as a shield against the red headed girl.

"BUFFY! I'm your friend! I would never hurt you!" Willow protested even as she tried to reassure the scared noblewoman.

"You are no friend of mine! I see you for what you are now, you low born heretic! My good sir, we must report her to the local vicar and witch hunters at once!" Buffy responded.

_Damn it Buffy! Possessed or not, that really hurts to hear you call me that. I know that you are possessed and not in control of yourself, but you are so going to make up for it, once all this madness has been resolved. _Willow thought a bit bitterly to herself, hurt at Buffy's words, but knowing at the same time that she wasn't really responsible for the situation that they now found themselves in.

_Why couldn't she just go as someone more useful? Say like Wonder Woman or maybe even Xena? _Willow continued to think to herself, before her thoughts were interrupted by Snake clearing his throat with a cough to get her attention.

"Ahem! Perhaps we all should calm down, before we say anything else that we may regret later." Snake suggested to the two feuding girls.

"But she's a…" Buffy began before she was interrupted again by Snake.

"Look. You have my word. I'll see to it that no harm comes to you."

"You'll protect me, my good sir?"

"You have my word. I'll protect you with my life if it's necessary madam." Snake replied earnestly.

"Thank you." Buffy replied as she curtseyed again.

"You are welcome. So let's get back to the topic at hand. Just what is going on? Is everyone in this damned town possessed by their costumes or is it just us?" Snake asked.

"I don't know. I don't even know how exactly you became who you currently are Snake. I will have to check with Giles, he'll know for sure."

"Giles?" Snake asked.

"Yeah Giles is an expert on this weird and supernatural stuff Snake. He'll know for sure what is going on."

"I see. And where do we go to meet this Giles?" Snake asked again.

"Well he could be either at the high school library or back at his apartment by now. But knowing Giles, he'll still be reading some texts back at the library."

"This Giles, he's a teacher then?" Snake guessed even as he asked Willow.

"He's the librarian actually." Willow replied.

_What the hell? How is a high school librarian going to help us solve this mess? Willow did say that this Giles was some kind of expert at this madness, but where does a simple librarian get that kind of knowledge from? _Snake mentally thought._ I suppose he may not have always been a librarian, but still something about this whole mess doesn't feel right._

Snake was broken out of this mental ramblings when a high pitched scream could be heard coming from outside. Snake quick as a flash, unholstered his SOCOM pistol and headed towards the front door and took a peak out of the door window. And what he saw was a civilian girl dressed in some kind of cat costume, being pursued by a hairy kind of monster that suspiciously looked like a yeti or the infamous big foot.

"Hmmm, it looks like a civilian that can clearly use my aid." Solid Snake stated even as he went into action by unlocking and opening the door and rushing outside to the girl's aid.

"Surely he does not mean to leave us in this wretched place." A scared Buffy now whimpered to Willow.

"Don't worry, he'll be back. I am sure of it." Willow tried to sooth the scared noblewoman but could see it didn't help that much.

"I don't know what we would do if he deserted us…" continued a scared Buffy even as Willow rolled her eyes.

"Whatever…*sigh*" Willow sighed as her got tired of putting up with this version of Buffy.

The scream that the group had heard belonged to one Cordelia Chase. She had being running the down the street, her costume torn with her hair a mess. There were several scratches on her face from her close shave previously from the Yeti that was now several yards behind her, chasing her. Even now she noticed that the geek known as Xander was running towards her, carrying what looked like to be some kind of automatic pistol.

"Xander, there's something chasing me! We've got to get help!" Cordelia chase screamed towards Xander, even as she continued to flee from the creature.

"Fear not! I will take care of this Tango. Just get inside that house and you should be safe madam." 'Xander' replied as he first pointed to Buffy's residence then charged towards the beast with the SOCOM pistol pointed at the Yeti, much to Cordelia's horror.

_Oh no! The dufus is going to fight the beast himself and is likely to get himself killed helping me! Where the hell is the Slayer when you need her? Honestly the Slayer is like a policeman. They are never around when you need them! _Cordelia thought in a panic. _And just where in the hell did the dork get that weapon from anyways? Just who does he think he is? Rambo?_

Cordelia looked on in horror as she watched the scene in front of her unfold. She prayed a little, hoping that somehow the adorable dufus who went to her aid would be alright.

"Xander?" Cordelia said softly even as he approached the Yeti.

"Just go! I'll be fine!" Snake responded and silently urged the girl to come to her senses and get into the Summer's residence where it was safe before the Yeti could harm her.

But Cordelia found she couldn't move even as she watched the thing swipe a large paw at Xander, only for its claws to be dodged quite nimbly by a swift combat roll that was performed by Snake with no noticeable damage coming to the FOXHOUND Agent. Snake quickly fired off a few rounds from the SOCOM and hit the beast with a few rounds to the chest.

_What the hell? This thing is still standing? The SOCOM has enough stopping power to drop even the most heavily armored Next Generation Special Forces solider, yet this thing seems to barely feel it. Damn, this could get ugly in a hurry if I can't come up with a quick solution. _Snake thought grimly to himself.

The Yeti roared in pain and swiped at Solid Snake again, only to be countered by Snake again, who again remained unscathed. The Yeti charged the hero in anger, only to meet the boot of Solid Snake, courtesy of a super kick to its jaw in reply. The yeti moaned in pain as it was knocked off its feet before deciding to retreat to find some other prey that wouldn't fight back.

_Damn that thing was tough! Good thing it didn't have much in the way of courage, otherwise that could have been a serious situation. _Snake thought to himself.

"Xander? What's going on?" A surprise and very shocked Cordelia asked, as she had witnessed that so called geek being able to beat off such a creature.

"It's complicated madam. I suggest we get inside quickly, where it's safe. Then we can explain." Snake replied even as he led Cordelia into the house. Cordelia was promptly greeted by an over excited and hyperventilating Willow Rosenberg, even while Snake both closed and locked the front door to the house behind them. Curious to Cordelia, Buffy was also there but something seemed to be a bit off about her for some reason. She seemed too timid and shy for a Slayer.

"Cordelia!" Willow exclaimed as she greeted the cheerleader.

"What's going on?" Cordelia asked Willow.

"Okay – your name is Cordelia, you're not a cat, you're in high school and we're your friends – well sort of."

"That's nice Willow. And you went mental when?" Queen C of Sunnydale sarcastically replied.

"You know us?" Willow asked in surprise.

"Yeah, lucky me. What's with the name game? And since when has Xander been all Mr Macho Rambo?"

"Well it's complicated and a lot is going on." Willow answered with a sigh.

"No kidding. I was just attacked by Jo Jo the dog faced boy. Have a look at my costume! Do you think Party Town's going give me my deposit back? Not very likely!"

"Well we should be safe here now that the beast has gone. Now all we have to do is talk to this Giles and work out how to fix it." Solid Snake said as he turned to talk to the girls.

"Okay I have an idea. You three stay here while I'll get Giles. If something else tries to get in, just fight it off." Willow stated to the group.

"It's not our place to fight. Surely some more men will come and protect us?" A frightened Buffy said.

"What's that riff?" An incredulous Cordelia asked in confusion.

"Are you sure that's safe?" A concerned Snake asked in the meantime.

"Perhaps I should go in your stead? I'm an excellent fighter, infiltrator and very good at sneaking around undetected. I'll be able to stay out of trouble much better than you can." Solid Snake suggested.

"That's true but I'm afraid you're going to be needed here to look after Buffy and Cordelia. And if you hadn't noticed before, I can't really be hurt about now. Since I'm all ghostly and everything." Willow replied.

"Hmm I get your point and if you can't be touched you probably can't be harmed. But still please be careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks." Snake advised Willow.

"And Cordelia it's sort of Amnesia, okay? Xander and Buffy don't know who they are at the moment. Please sit tight here." Willow starts to take off even while Cordelia remarks

"Who died and made her boss?"

"I believe she did." Solid Snake pointed out towards Willow as she actually passes through the front door, without the actual need to be opening it first. This sight was too much for the frightened Buffy, causing her to faint.

END OF CHAPTER FOUR.


	5. Chapter 5 Halloween Madness Part II

CHAPTER FIVE – HALLOWEEN MADNESS PART II

"Man, am I glad to see you guys here. It's total chaos out there." Angel said as he made his presence known to the group.

"Who are you?" Both Buffy and Solid Snake asked, even as Snake raised his SOCOM in preparation for a fight. Snake aimed the laser sight of the SOCOM squarely at the forehead of the newcomer, whom had somehow managed to enter the house without Snake detecting his presence. Snake took notice of this new man and began to get immediately suspicious.

_Just who the hell is this? And how did he get in here without me hearing so much of a squeak? Could he be working with FOXHOUND? Or worse, could he even be working with Liquid? But assuming what Willow told me was the truth, how is that even possible? Granted that I'm here, but still…the chances for another member or ex member of FOXHOUND being here must be extremely low. _Snake mentally thought as he aimed his SOCOM at the newcomer's head.

"Identify yourself stranger, before I drop you like a bad habit!" Snake snarled at the man.

Angel in response tried to take another step forward, with his hands up in the air, trying to show that he meant no harm. But that's all he got, as Snake fired off a round form his SOCOM and put a bullet just past Angel's head, and into the plastered wall behind Angel, with the predictable result of Angel being covered in plaster residue.

"Xander? I know you've never liked me, but what the hell?" Angel exclaimed a bit angrily even as he tried to dust himself off.

"Not another step closer! Identify yourself now, or prepared to be used as a target for shooting practice!" Snake warned Angel in a very quiet yet deadly tone. "And you will stay away from these young women. They are under my protection, and I have no intention of letting you harm them!"

"Cordy? What's wrong with Xander?" Angel asked as he turned towards Cordelia. He had no idea what was going on but he intended to find out what the fuss was all about.

"He's not himself Angel. Both Xander and Buffy have some kind of Amnesia or something. That's what Willow said." Cordelia answered the puzzled souled vampire.

"You know this man?" Xander asked Cordelia, even while not taking his sights off the man in question for an instant of a second.

"Look I mean you no harm." Angel gestured as he held his hands up in a universal gesture of peace.

"And why should I believe you?" A suspicious Solid Snake asked, even while still holding his SOCOM aimed at Angel's head.

"He's a friend, Xander. If you don't believe him, believe me please." Cordelia managed to say before Angel could reply.

"Are you sure about this miss? And for your information the name is not Xander, it's Solid Snake." Snake told Cordelia even as he kept a wary eye upon Angel, despite lowering his SOCOM pistol. Both Angel and Cordelia managed to sigh with relief as Snake lowered his weapon even while simultaneously raising their eyebrows in respond to his reply.

"Solid Snake? What kind of lame ass name is that?" Cordelia snarked.

"Ah Cordy…I don't think that's his real name. I believe it to be a code name. Most black ops and special forces types use them." Angel explained.

"Exactly." Snake replied back with a smirk.

"Then what is your real name then Solider Boy?" Cordelia asked.

"Sorry ma'am, that's classified." Snake replied again, this time with an even bigger smirk which annoyed the cheerleader to no end.

"Fine, then. Be that way then dork." Cordelia replied with a huff even as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Ah..getting back to the previous subject then. Does anyone else know just what the hell is going on outside?" Angel asked the group as he was keen to get to the bottom of the madness going on outside.

"I believe that low born red headed harlot went off to find the learned scholar to put an end to this mess." The noblewoman Buffy piped up, suddenly pleased that she was able to contribute something to the conversation.

"Huh?" Angel asked.

"I believe the red headed girl known as Willow went off to see a Mr Giles…I think it was." Snake answered Angel's query.

"Oh good. Giles should be able to sort things out, but I guessing he'll probably need some help though. There's a lot of nasty things running around outside right about now. But someone has to go out there and help Giles." Angel responded thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah, sure! With those THINGS running around outside? You can count me out!" Cordelia screeched in panic at the thought of leaving the comfortable and currently safe haven of the Summers' residence.

"Well I guess we can count you out of everything then, harlot." The Buffy noblewoman taunted the cheerleader annoyed that the other woman wasn't willing to help out. A little bit of Buffy the Slayer still remained within the girl's body and mind, despite the Halloween possession.

"But Cordy it's…." Angel began before he was interrupted by Solid Snake.

"I'll go." Solid Snake said somewhat quietly, even as Solid Snake was planning strategies and tactics in how to get to this Giles safely, without running into any other those weird creatures that were currently running amok outside.

"What?" Angel asked, surprised that the boy would volunteer, but then quickly remembered that he was currently possessed by a professional solider.

"No. I should go. If this Giles needs help I'm the best suited and trained for it. And I'm the only one here armed anyways." Solid Snake explained as he came to a decision.

"Yeah right man. Solider Guy should go. Good idea!" Cordelia snarked.

"Believe me, if I had any choice I would prefer not. I may be a special forces, black operations solider, but I'm not stupid." Snake responded to the sarcastic cheerleader.

"But, what about you Xander…ah Solid Snake. Will you be okay?" Angel asked with a rare bit of concern for the boy and his closest rival for Buffy's affections.

"I'll be fine man. You just stay here and look after the woman." Snake replied to the nervous Vampire, even as Snake took a quick inventory of his current ammo and supplies upon his person.

"You'll look after us then, my good sir?" A nervous Buffy noblewoman asked of Angel, not realizing what Angel's true nature was.

"With, my life." Angel responded confidently in order to reassure her.

**Meanwhile, else where at the High School Library of Sunnydale High….**

Rupert Giles was working on the book catalog in the Sunnydale High School library, oblivious to the chaos and machinations of Ethan Rayne that was happening outside. He was starting to cross reference some of the over due library books that had only just been returned and was working towards putting them back in their proper places on the library book shelves.

_Bloody American teenagers, now days! They really don't have the appreciation for a good book. Most are now into silly things they call video games or are stuck on their infernal machines surfing the so called 'web'. *Sigh* in my day, nothing could compare to a well written novel._

Rupert Giles grumbled to himself as he continued to work, when he heard something off in the distance that sort of reminded him of a growl. He paused at what he was doing, before he headed off towards the library door. And was startled, and very much surprised when Willow came _literally_ through the doors in question.

"Good Lord!" Rupert remarked as he took off his glasses and started to clean them, even while the catalog cards that he was holding was promptly dropped onto the floor in his surprise.

"Giles! We have a big problem!" Willow exclaimed excited as she began to hyperventilate.

"Willow, please could you calm down and explain to me what the problem is." Giles replied.

Willow then promptly gave Giles a run down of the night's events, with her friends suddenly not remembering who they were, with small children suddenly becoming the creatures, demons and vampires which they dressed as, right up to the chaos and conflict that had come to the town.

About half an hour later, both Giles and Willow were sitting at the library table which was now covered in books and other reference materials that specialized in the occult and magic.

"I don't even know what to look for. Plus it's hard for me to research when I can't actually turn pages by myself." Willow sighed in frustration.

"Right then, let's review. At Sundown everyone became their costumes, whatever they were masquerading as at the time." Giles began to recap.

"Right. Xander became a video game character known as Solid Snake. Buffy was an 18th century noblewoman. A very annoying noblewoman, so say the least." Willow grumbled that last bit of her statement to herself with a bit of a huff.

"Solid Snake?" A confused Watcher asked Willow, unsure what a Solid Snake was.

"Ah. Solid Snake is a code name. Xander dressed up as some kind of special forces and counter terrorist solider I think." Willow replied.

"I see, and then I guess Buffy and Xander should be okay if he indeed has access to this fellow's skills and training to look after them both. But if I may ask, just what was your costume?" Rupert asked even as he stared at the girl and started to worry about what Willow dressed up as.

"I'm a ghost."

"But a ghost of **what,** exactly?" Giles asked.

Willow looked a bit embarrassed about what Giles must be possibly thinking before she answered the Watcher and High school librarian.

"Just a ghost Giles, besides this is nothing. You should have seen what Cordelia was wearing."

"I shudder at the thought of that young Willow." Giles replied with a small trace of a smile, even while Willow continued.

"It was a unitard. Like a little cat costume. With proper ears and whiskers and stuff."

"Good Heavens! I take it Miss Chase turned into an actual feline?"

Willow took a moment to pause before answering, suddenly realizing what was wrong.

"No. She was still just the same old Cordelia Chase, just in a cat costume."

"Then she didn't change." Giles stated.

"No. Hold on let me think…..Party Town. She told us she got her outfit in that expensive costume shop called Party Town."

"And everybody who changed, where did they acquire their costumes from if it wasn't from this Party Town?" Giles asked with a bit of urgency.

"We all got ours at this new discount shop called Ethan's." Willow answered. And it was at this point, both of them realized who was responsible for the night's events. Although in Rupert Giles' case, he knew who EXACTLY was behind it all.

Rupert Giles immediately when to get his jacket and started to leave the library. Willow noticed this and started to follow when Rupert held up his one hand and gestured for her to stop.

"Now Willow, I know who exactly is behind this madness and I'm going to sort this mess out. If you could please wait here where it is safe…" But Willow interrupted before the Watcher could finish.

"But, Giles! I want to help you. And I'm all ghostly and everything here. I don't think I can be hurt at the moment." Willow started to say, as she really wanted to help.

"Well it goes against my better judgement, but perhaps you can start by leading the way to Ethan's shop." Giles answered even while he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Sure thing, Giles." Willow said as the pair of them then left the library to put an end to Ethan's scheme of madness.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE


	6. Chapter 6 Halloween Madness Part III

CHAPTER SIX – HALLOWEEN MADNESS PART III

**Previously….**

"Now Willow, I know who exactly is behind this madness and I'm going to sort this mess out. If you could please wait here where it is safe…" But Willow interrupted before the Watcher could finish.

"But, Giles! I want to help you. And I'm all ghostly and everything here. I don't think I can be hurt at the moment." Willow started to say, as she really wanted to help.

"Well it goes against my better judgement, but perhaps you can start by leading the way to Ethan's shop." Giles answered even while he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Sure thing, Giles." Willow said as the pair of them then left the library to put an end to Ethan's scheme of madness.

**And now….**

Solid Snake left the relative safety of the Summers' residence and sneaked back off into the night. He knew that his objective in this 'mission' was to link up with this Mr Giles, acquire the necessary intelligence from this so called expert, and then use the intelligence gathered and put an end to this so-called madness.

_I just bloody hope that Meryl is okay. There's no telling what that bastard Liquid Snake is doing to her at the moment. I just hope I can solve this problem quickly, and get back to her in time before that terrorist scum could do something permanent to the lady. If I happen to be late, then I will just have to take my pound of flesh out of that bastard's hide! _Snake thought viciously.

_I just hope that this so-called 'Angel' looks after the women back at the Summers' residence. Sure, this Cordelia was willing to speak up on his behalf, but there was something about this man that just gives me a bad feeling somehow. It's like there was something about the man to be feared or at least be wary about, somehow… _Snake mentally thought as he took another quick inventory of his current weapons, equipment and ammo.

_Hmmm. Not good, especially if I run into more of these so-called 'creatures' and 'demons'._ Snake thought. _I need to find a local army depot ASAP, but failing that at least find the local Gun Shop and raid it for some supplies that pack a bit more punch than what I am currently equipped with._

Snake continued sneaking down the street and passed a few shops that looked like they had been looted earlier on during the chaos. He took of note of all the damage that had been done to the parked cars, the shops and the general surrounding area of the town.

_Where the hell, have all the god damned cops gone? They had better have a good reason for slacking off or otherwise I'm going to be SERIOUSLY PISSED OFF! Bad enough I have to deal with these strange creatures, but if I have to deal with crooked cops and god damned conspiracies as well, I won't BE A HAPPY CAMPER! _Snake mentally ranted, even as he began to get a seriously bad feeling about the entire situation.

Solid Snake continued to get bad feelings about this place, when he came across the Sunnydale gun shop. The windows and doors had been smashed in, with the alarm blaring, but strangely from what Snake could tell all the weapons on the shelves hadn't been touched, and neither had the ammo being touched.

_I'm getting a very bad feeling about this. Something is not right here! Better check this place out, last thing I need is someone unwanted surprises! _Snake thought as he cautiously entered the shop, his SOCOM drawn, aimed and ready to kick ass, if in fact the gun shop wasn't as empty as Snake had first thought. Snake quickly realized that he was alone, and the shop was empty of hostiles. Snake looked at the various weapons and realized if he was going to survive this madness, then he needed some heavier weapons than just his SOCOM pistol. It was then he noticed the first weapon that he knew would prove extremely useful.

"**Sweet!"** Snake exclaimed as he examined the weapon, and grabbed it from the shelf. It was a FA-MAS Assault Rifle, a common assault gun used by most Special Forces. Snake knew the weapon was a very good medium range weapon that packed a hell of a punch, but was inaccurate at larger distances.

_What the hell? The FA-MAS is a standard military assault grade weapon that is restricted to the Marines or Special Forces! How the hell is a small town, gun store stocking and selling a weapon like this, let alone having access to it? Something here is not right. _Snake though, even as he took the weapon despite his deep suspicions about the situation he now found himself in.

He quickly gathered up some spare ammo for the FA-MAS and the SOCOM that he was currently equipped with. Snake slung the FA-MAS over his right shoulder and then looked around the store and shelves to check if anything else there could prove useful. Snake noticed quite a few more automatic pistols that were plainly illegal in half a dozen states and different types of shotguns, but nothing better than what he was currently equipped with. The heavier weapons, Snake guessed was locked up somewhere on the premises in a heavy locker or safe, but time was against the FOXHOUND Agent, so making a snap decision, he decided to leave the store with all the spare ammunition he could get his hands on and actually carry on his person.

Snake had just about headed out the broken doors of the gun shop, when he suddenly noticed a large crate in the far corner of the store, with the word EXPLOSIVES written in large black letters across the side. Deciding he didn't have enough firepower yet, Solid Snake decided to check the contents of the crate. He noticed that while the lid was still secure, there wasn't a need for a crowbar to open it. Snake quickly ripped off the lid and peered inside at the contents, and what he saw made him even more suspicious.

"What the hell? Just what kind of store is this? It's bloody C-4 and detonators!" Snake remarked darkly as he saw the crate was full of the stuff. Grabbing a nearby bag, Snake quickly stuffed it full of the small, but yet very deadly plastic explosives with the deadly detonators. Finally satisfied that he had enough firepower for now, Snake took his leave from the gun shop and quickly headed back outside to continue his mission.

_This was too bloody easy! It's almost like a trap! Best to take no chances then, there's no telling whether or not Liquid Snake has set this up, despite what that red headed girl had said! If Liquid is even the slightest bit responsible for this mess, then no doubt he's probably sent one of his best soldiers to stake the place out. It's too bad for him that I have already taken care of Sniper Wolf back in the snow fields on Shadow Moses Island. Still, it is best not to be reckless. Liquid might have other crack snipers or other surprises waiting for me after all. _Snake mentally thought as he stealthily exited the gun shop, taking care of his surroundings and being on high alert for an ambush.

Snake continued to sneak down the street, moving quickly and quietly from cover to cover, taking care to avoid any possible ambushes from those 'creatures' or any possible allies of Liquid Snake. When no such attacks came, Snake relaxed slightly but still remained on his guard. After all, Snake knew that a relaxed soldier was a very, careless soldier, and careless soldiers quickly became dead. Snake continued to remain on guard and continued to find this Mr Giles, while maintaining a close watch on his six. Snake just hoped he could find a solution before it was too late.

"Xander…ah… Snake!" A very familiar and feminine voice called out to Snake, breaking the FOXHOUND Agent out of his deep thoughts. The soldier reacted instantly, quickly going to the newly found FA-MAS, bringing it up and aiming it at the source of the voice.

"Whoa!" The feminine voice cried out in surprise and shock as she realized she was being targeted. The feminine voice belonged to one Willow Rosenberg and ghost or not, she quickly raised her hands above her head in a gesture meaning that she meant no harm.

"Good Lord!" Was a response that came a mature, British sounding voice, and for some reason Snake thought he could hear a pair of glasses being polished at a furious pace.

"Identify yourselves at once or I'll open fire!" The ever cautious and paranoid Solid Snake yelled out to the people who had stumbled upon him, even as he aimed the FA-MAS assault rifle at the source of the sounds.

"Wait…Snake! It's me!" Willow cried out, hoping to prevent a very fatal misunderstanding between her, Giles and the currently 'Snake' possessed Xander Harris.

"Meryl?" Snake asked before remembering that the red headed girl before him wasn't the Meryl he knew.

"No Snake. It's me. Willow Rosenberg. We met earlier tonight. Don't you remember?" Willow asked, somewhat still wary of the machine gun that Snake had stilled aimed their way.

"Who's your friend?" Snake asked somewhat warily, even as he kept his aim on the red headed girl and the newcomer.

"This is Giles. He's the expert I told you about before, remember?" Willow asked Snake.

"So you are indeed this Giles, of which she speaks?" Snake asked, even as he turned his attention, and the aim of his FA-MAS towards the Watcher.

"Yes. Quite." Giles replied, even as he noticed that the aim of the machine gun was now headed his way. Giles quickly fought down a small lump of fear before continuing.

"Now look. We mean you no harm." Giles said even as he raised his arms in a gestured of peace. Hoping to not make any suddenly moves, in which might cause some rash actions to be taken.

"Do you now." A cynical Solid Snake replied, even as he continued to watch this Mr Giles with a lot of caution and paranoia. He was a FOXHOUND agent after all, trained to suspect everyone, and wary of double and even sometimes, triple agents.

"Indeed. Willow and my good self were now heading off towards the source of all this madness." Giles replied in an effort to placate the soldier who was aimed a deadly machine gun still at him and to a somewhat lesser degree, Willow Rosenberg.

_Still, Willow may be in a ghost form right now and somewhat intangible, but there's no point taking any chances. She's still a school girl for Christ's sake! _Rupert Giles thought to himself, even as he tried to think of a way to end this situation peacefully.

"I see. You know who's responsible for all this madness?" Snake asked even as he considered the Watcher's words and started to lower his FA-MAS as he realized that this Giles posed no threat.

"Indeed." Rupert Giles replied quite simply, as he was relieved to see the 'Soldier' lower the machine gun down.

"Very, well. Perhaps we can help each other out. You help me lead me to whoever is responsible for this madness, and in return I'll deal with the scum who's responsible." Snake replied with a dark tone to his voice.

"Indeed. And is it Solid Snake that I talk to?" Giles asked, even as a bit of the old 'Ripper' personality came to the fore.

_Between me and a well trained Special Forces soldier, that bloody pillock Ethan Rayne doesn't stand a chance! _Rupert Giles thought somewhat violently.

"I see someone has been telling tales. I trust that they are all good?" Snake asked somewhat a bit sarcastically, even as Willow started to blush a nice shade of red.

"Quite. But now is not the time for stories. I suggest we put an end to this madness." Giles replied in a effort not only to dodge the question, but in a attempt to get things moving again.

"I agree. Lead the way then Mr Giles." Snake replied as he gestured with his FA-MAS for Giles and Willow to lead the way. Snake was beginning to feel these two were trusty worthy, but he was going to take no chances.

_Especially after all that Master Miller crap that Liquid put me through! They may appear to be allies, but still it's better for me to take no chances. If they make the wrong moves I will deal with them, but for now I will just play along. _Snake thought even as he watched his companion's movements as he followed them through the town of Sunnydale.

END OF CHAPTER SIX


	7. Chapter 7 Judgement Cometh Part I

CHAPTER SEVEN – JUDGEMENT COMES PART I

**Previously….**

"The Snake is not daddy, Spiky. He is someone new and some one old. All foxy and runs with the hounds." Drusilla replied, even though she was mad, she really tried to convey the seriousness of this warning to Spike. But as usual Spike knew better and just ignored this cryptic warning, figuring there was no way any Snake wanker would be able to harm him.

"No worries my love. I will take care of this Snake whoever he is and then we can all have some crumpets and tea my sweet."

"Really Spiky? Truly and really?" Drusilla asked.

"I promised my sweet. I cross my non-bleeding, un-dead heart." Spike replied as he soothed his sire and lover.

"I'll head out very soon my love. Then I'm going to kill this wanker of a Snake, then bag my third Slayer! Then you will be able to go out and about again my love!" Spike told Drusilla.

**And now….**

The Master Vampire known as Spike, aka William the Bloody, had been patrolling the streets of Sunnydale by himself for the last couple of hours, hoping to get into contact with the helpless Slayer as per the predictions of his insane sire Drusilla. Spike had thought of recruiting some minions and some of the smaller 'Demons' that he had saw running through the town, but then had thought better of it.

_Bloody hell, this chaos is great! There's a Slayer out there all on her lonesome, like a bleeding, frightened little lamb! As tempting as it is to recruit some of these small fry, why should these little buggers get any credit? No way! I'm going to bag my third Slayer mate! And Bollocks to all these half wits who think they are the new big bad! _Spike thought, even as he laughed mentally to himself.

_No way in hell am I going to let these Demon want-to-be's steal all the credit! Hell no! I'm William the Bloody, and I'm a bloody animal mate and the big bad of this piece! _Spike thought, even as he decided he would go solo in his effort to hunt down and kill the helpless Slayer.

_And just what the hell is a nasty Snake anyways? There's no way in Hell that a mere Snake can stand up to a Vampire! I'll crush whoever this Snake Wanker is, then I'll drain the Slayer dry, no matter what drivel Dru may go on about! Ha! I'll show my dark princess who the real Vampire is around in Sunny Hell! _Spike mentally snorted, even as he knew his Drusilla still longed for her 'Daddy' to return home.

Spike continued down the streets of Sunnydale, ignoring the chaos going on around him being caused by the 'small demons'. In another reality, the alternate Spike would have recruited these creatures and fledgling vampires to wear down the Slayer, despite her current situation. In this reality, Spike aka William the Bloody, felt a blood lust that his alternates had never felt before. This Spike was going to bag his third Slayer and brag to his dark princess or he would be dust. There would be no middle ground.

_As soon as I get my hands on this bleeding Slayer… _Spike mentally growled, before taking in a sight that piqued his interest. During his intensive research into the current Slayer, Spike had managed to find a lot of information about the current Slayer, aka Buffy Summers. He knew for a fact where she lived, who her friends were, the Slayer's various fighting styles, her resourcefulness, and her allies and where the Slayer liked to hang out. What piqued Spike's interest was that a small group of the 'small demons' were gathering in a group, just outside the Summers' residence, in preparation for an attack.

_Well bollocks! Something is up here! Looks like these small creatures are preparing to attack the home of the Slayer herself! Maybe these small buggers might be useful after all, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! _Spike mentally laughed to himself as he came up with yet another evil plan to get rid of the troublesome Slayer of Sunnydale. Spike knew if he could get these smaller demons to attack the Summers' residence en masse, he could get someone to panic. Spike then had an evil smirk while he walked over to the smaller demons to explain his plan.

_This time, I won't fail! The bloody Slayer's blood will be mine, and Dru will have her run of this town! Nothing will get in our bloody way! _Spike thought in triumph as he though of all the ways he could possibly torture the Slayer with. Spike managed to convince the 'Demons' of his plan. He ordered most to attack the front as a diversion, and then ordered a few to attack the rear as a sneak attack.

_This time Slayer, you will be mine. Oh yes, you will be mine…_Spike thought with malice as well as ruthlessly.

**At the same time, in the Summers' residence…**

Not only Angel could sense the presence of his childe Spike, aka William the Bloody, he could also sense the build up of demons outside, in preparation for an attack. He ordered Cordelia to barricade the door with some nearby furniture, knowing that such a solid door, backed with the necessary fortifications would be able to withstand the threat posed by the 'small demons' gathering outside.

However, he knew that the back door to Buffy's house was quite flimsy and thus quite vulnerable to attack. He just thanked god or whoever was watching over them that Joyce Summers had the foresight to put steel security bars over all house windows. Angel headed back to the kitchen in order to secure this door, closely followed by the nervous noblewoman Buffy.

_Damn it, why did Buffy have to dress up as an annoying 18th century noblewoman? I always did despise their kind. The only good thing about them was they were defenseless when one was out and about looking for a quick and easy meal._ Angel thought to him self, even as he began to feel guilty about preying on the noblewomen of that particular time period.

However, when the pair got to the Kitchen, they noticed that the kitchen door that led to the outside was wide open.

"What the hell? I didn't leave that door wide open." Angel remarked as he looked around warily, in case of an attack. He moved closer towards the door, expecting an attack any minute, while Buffy behind him looked even more frightened and scared even as she backed up towards the door that led down to the house cellar. Silently, the door opens behind her and a real Demon, which had somehow got into the Summers' residence, started to move from the shadows towards the helpless Buffy.

Angel shuts the door in disgust and turns back to Buffy, only to notice the danger that she was in just in time.

"Buffy! Look out!" Angel shouted out his warning, even as Buffy spins around towards the threat heading her way. She actually does something useful, acting much on instinct more than rational thought as she quickly grabs the door and slams it into the face of the Demon.

The demon growled out in a bit of pain, but as it is much more powerful than the noblewoman, it quickly flings the door wide open, sending Buffy sprawling backwards on the kitchen floor. But Buffy's actions had brought her self some time and had allowed Angel to reach her in time. Angel launched a diving tackle upon the demon, taking them both down to the floor.

Buffy quickly gets up and backs away from where Angel was wrestling with the Demon on the kitchen floor. She quickly notices a large kitchen knife laying on the counter and quickly picks it up to use as a weapon. Angel quickly notices Buffy holding the large knife, while he continued to grapple with the Demon. He looks at the noblewoman and quickly shouts towards her

"Buffy, the knife!"

"What?" Buffy asked in confusion.

"Give me the knife!" Angel pleaded before he copped a powerful left fist from the Demon which actually managed to cause Angel to vamp out into his game face. Buffy took one look at his ridged forehead, yellow eyes and large fangs before screaming. She drops the knife on the floor and quickly runs out the back door.

"Buffy, No!" Angel cries out in despair. It was at this time the Demon takes a moment to throw Angel off, coming around on top of him. Angel and the Demon continued to fight and wrestle in the kitchen with neither gaining the upper hand. Both had managed to gain their feet in the ensuring struggle and circled around each other warily. Both were starting to breathe heavily, as the fight had gone on for several minutes and Angel was starting to get worried about Buffy.

_Damn, while I'm held up here trying to fight off this damned Demon, who knows what trouble Buffy could be getting into. She's helpless right now, and it doesn't look like she even has her Slayer powers at the moment! Damn this, if only I could find a quick way to finish this Demon off._ Angel thoughts trailed off as he saw someone coming into the kitchen at a right angle to his opponent's vision. Angel's desperation at the plight of Buffy allowed him to just barely overcome the demon, even as Cordelia came into the Kitchen and belted the Demon over the head with a fireplace iron that she had gathered from the living room to finish the said demon off.

"Cordelia…" Angel began, before he was interrupted by the cheerleader of Sunnydale High School.

"No need to thank me…but I hate to say it, but let's go rescue the blond bimbo before she gets herself killed." Cordelia snarked.

"Cordelia…" Angel started to growl, before Cordelia interrupted him again.

"What's more important to you? You're macho, he-man reputation or the life of Slutty?" Cordelia snarked in her own personal way where that most people thought as her insulting them, whereas in reality meant Cordelia cared, in her own special way.

"Good point." Angel quickly agreed, as he realized that Buffy was defenseless by herself, especially if his childe Spike aka William the Bloody, was prowling the streets of Sunnydale.

**Elsewhere….**

Solid Snake followed both Rupert Giles and Willow Rosenberg towards the destination of the madman responsible for the night's chaos. He followed at a discreet distance, not close enough to be spotted, but close enough to respond to any threat that may present itself.

Both Rupert and Willow approached Ethan's costume shop with a degree of haste that alarmed Solid Snake.

_Bloody hell! These two may be civilians, but have they even heard of the concept of stealth? They are approaching the premises of the suspect behind this madness in full view! That is just asking to be caught by the perpetrator of this madness! Damned civilians! Guess I'll have to stick to their six and make sure no harm comes to them! _Snake thought quickly as he decided to match thoughts with actions.

While Snake dropped back a bit and decided to follow in stealth mode, Willow and Rupert Giles arrived at the entrance to Ethan Rayne's shop. They were both surprised that the front door was left unlocked, even as they entered into the premises. The shop was dark, apart from all the various candles around the place which had been lit. Rupert took a moment and noticed that they were BLACK candles.

_That idiot Ethan Rayne is definitely behind the chaos tonight. And by the looks of it my fellow Briton has cast a spell of the dark arts._ _I just hope we can put an end to this madness before any one truly gets hurt._

Rupert Giles was continuing to think and examine the shop, when Willow had noticed a small back room, inside there was the alter that Ethan had prayed to previously in the night, in order for him to cast the magic spell that changed people into their costumes for that night.

"Giles, come in here and have a look at this!" Willow replied even as Giles came into the back room, where he instantly noticed the bust of Janus.

"Giles, what is it?" Willow asked.

"That bust is of Janus. Janus is a roman mystical god."

"But what does it mean?"

"Primarily it represents the division of self. Of light and dark – " Giles was about to continue on before he was interrupted by a voice behind them that was all too familiar.

"Chunky and creamy. Oh, I'm sorry. That's peanut butter." Ethan joked as he smirked towards his old friend Ripper.

"Willow, get out of here. Now!" Giles ordered in a tone that implied that his orders were not to be disobeyed lightly, with a large amount of his Ripper personality shining through in that moment.

"But, Giles?" Willow protested, confused as to the Watcher's attitude before she was cut off by Giles before she could protest even further.

"Now Willow." Giles said in a cold, icy tone that told Willow that Giles meant business. Willow quickly ran out of the shop, even while Giles greeted his old friend.

"Hello, Ethan." Giles said with a 'Ripper' like smirk.

"Hello, Ripper." Ethan replied with a likewise evil grin. Unfortunately for Ethan Rayne, he had missed the legendary Solid Snake sneak into the building, unnoticed by him, Willow Rosenberg, and even by Rupert Giles who should have known better. That mistake, would come back to haunt Ethan Rayne.

END OF CHAPTER SEVEN


	8. Chapter 8 Judgement Cometh Part II

A/N – Warning - Some mild violence will be in this chapter. Those squeamish should stop reading. Thank you.

CHAPTER EIGHT – JUDGEMENT COMETH PART II

Ethan Rayne had made a mistake. It was a very, fatal mistake. He was so focused on his old friend and nemesis Rupert 'Ripper' Giles, that he had failed to notice 'Snake's' stealthy entrance into his costume shop. That failure would end up very costly to Ethan, though he was yet to realize it.

"Hello, Ripper." Ethan greeted his old adversary with a chaotic yet evil grin. He was the priest of Janus after all.

"Ethan." Giles greeted Ethan back neutrally, struggling to contain his darker, 'Ripper' personality in check.

While Ethan Rayne and his old friend Rupert "Ripper" Giles squared off against each other in the small back room of Ethan's costume shop, Solid Snake quietly and stealthily crept into the shop and took up a position where he could take Ethan or Giles out if he had to. Snake quietly deactivated the laser sight on his SOCOM, as the bright red, targeting laser would have tipped off both Ethan and Ripper that they were targeted in the dimly lit gloom of Ethan's costume store. Snake was tempted to take both out, as he believed either one could prove to be trouble, but realized in the end Ethan was the greater threat so Snake decided to focus his ire and oh so deadly skills against the unfortunate Chaos Mage.

Ethan's manner, oblivious to the danger that Snake posed to him, seemed to be light at first glance, but underneath he was tense, hoping to get "Ripper" out of that old, fuddy duddy exterior he had adopted as one of the Watchers of the Council. However, he looked at his old friend and smirked, knowing that he had got Ripper's attention at last.

"What, no hug? Aren't you happy to see me, Ripper old friend? It's been a very long time mate."

"We're not mates." Rupert Giles growled back at Ethan, his disgust at his old friend's antics quite evident.

"Ripper, I'm disappointed! Of course we are. We go way back you know. It's a shame what has become of you, but then you're only human." Ethan replied with an even bigger, evil grin upon his face.

"If I'm barely human, what does that make you?" Rupert snarled back at Ethan in anger.

"Ripper, Ripper, Ripper. Come now, can't we talk this over like all times? Surely you must be interested in what I've done tonight." Ethan replied before he was interrupted by a largely exaggerated sigh from Rupert Giles.

"I'm surprised that I didn't guess that tonight's chaos was all your doing, before Ethan. This sick Halloween stunt practically stinks of Ethan Rayne."

"It does, doesn't it old friend? I'm not usually one to blow my own horn, but this night is a work of genius. The very embodiment of 'be careful of what you wish for', isn't that so Ripper?" Ethan asked even as he smirked, an evil smirk.

Giles in reply could only glare angrily back at his old friend Ethan, before replying

"It's sick. And it is brutal. And this spell harms the innocent –" Giles said before he was interrupted by the wry Ethan Rayne.

"Oh, and we all know that you are the champion of innocence and all things pure, innocent and good, Ripper old pal. Hmmmmm…. This is quite an act you've got going on here, old man."

"It's no act. It's who I am." Giles replied in response and protest at Ethan's words.

Ethan could only laugh at Rupert's words and glanced back at him in disbelief. Rupert was about to begin another one of his lectures but Ethan managed to get another word in.

"It's who you are? The Watcher? The sniveling tweed wearing guardian of the Slayer and her friends – let me guess, the so-called 'Scoobies'? Oh yes Rupert, don't look so surprised, I know everything thing about you, the slayer as well as her friends. And I know you better than all. And I know what you're capable of."

"You know nothing about me." Rupert snarled back at Ethan.

"But I do Ripper. I know you all too well. The question is, do your young friends know you at all? I think not. They have no idea who you are or where you came from, don't they?"

Giles was starting to clearly get frustrated and feel threatened by Ethan's verbal attack. In some ways he knew that Ethan was right but in others he also knew that Ethan was totally wrong as well. Thinking for a moment, Giles paused a bit before responding with powerful anger instead of bluster, in his voice. It was a tone that the so called 'Scoobies' had yet to hear from the Watcher.

"Break the spell, Ethan. Then leave this place and never come back." Giles warned as he practically snarled at Ethan.

"Why should I? What do I get in the bargain?" Ethan asked even as he suppressed a smirk. He knew that Ripper was just lurking under the surface of Giles' not so calm exterior.

"You get to live." Giles said in a very cold tone of voice which practically dripped liquid nitrogen.

"Oooooooh. You so scary Rupert. But aren't you a Watcher now? Gee, that must be the stuff that nightmares are…" Ethan responded sarcastically in response before he could finish he was interrupted by Giles who had brutally dropped the Chaos Mage with a vicious punch.

"Tell me how to end the spell Ethan!" Giles roared at the Chaos Mage, who was lying upon the shop floor, trying in vain to get his breathe back.

"Or…what?" Ethan gasped back sarcastically at the Watcher, even as he got back to his own feet.

"OR I WILL END YOU!" Snake snarled out at the Chaos Mage, as he made his presence felt at last. Snake came out of nowhere, holding his silenced and very deadly SOCOM pistol aimed at Ethan Rayne's forehead. With the red targeting laser re-activated, and pointing a small red dot upon Ethan Rayne's forehead.

"Bloody hell! Look, there's no need to do anything hasty here my young lad…" Ethan replied, even as he hesitated at the sight of an all too real SOCOM pistol being aimed by the young man right at his own forehead. The chaos Mage backed up a few steps, and raised his hands above his head in a gesture of peace, hoping to calm Ripper's young friend down so he wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Tell us how to end the spell Ethan! I doubt I'll be able to hold my young friend back for long, considering who he dressed up as tonight." Giles warned his old friend Ethan.

"I see." Ethan gulped as he swallowed a small lump of fear, before continuing.

"May I ask what his costume was? I can't keep track of who's who with all these costumes in my store, you know." Ethan replied with a small and evil smirk.

"Ethan!" Giles growled in reply.

"Perhaps I should identify myself Mr Giles." Solid Snake suggested to the Watcher, his eyes never leaving the sight of the dangerous Chaos Mage known as Ethan Rayne.

"Please do and let my old 'friend' here know what dangerous forces he is messing around with." Giles replied in his 'Ripper' tone.

"Allow me to introduce my self. I'm a rather well known special forces soldier called Solid Snake. And I'm a member of special forces and black operations group better known as FOXHOUND that specializes in dealing with terrorists and other scum." Snake replied grimly.

"Special forces? FOXHOUND? And what the hell kind of lame name is Solid Snake? I mean really, you're named after a bloody animal?" Ethan Rayne taunted the special forces veteran, not quite helping himself, despite his perilous situation.

"It's a military code-name you god damned fool! And I eat terrorist scumbags such as you for breakfast!" Snake snarled in reply even as he cocked his SOCOM pistol and prepared to eliminate this nuisance.

"…." Ethan gulped and remained quiet, as he realized he may not get out of this situation alive, and for the first time that night was regretting pulling his Halloween stunt.

The tense situation in the back of the costume store was suddenly broken, with a large scream being heard coming from outside, and with the appearance of Willow Rosenberg entering the back room directly through the walls of the shop. Her sudden appearance startled Giles and even made Ethan blink. Solid Snake remain undisturbed about the girl's sudden entry and still kept Ethan covered with his SOCOM.

"Good Lord! I'll never get used to that!" Giles said, even as he began to clean his glasses again.

"My, word! I'm guessing the girl here dressed up as a Ghost!" Ethan stated even as he began to chuckle. Those chuckles were quickly silenced as Snake threatened the Mage to either shut up or risk being shot. Ethan quickly decided to take the wisest option and promptly shut his mouth.

"Giles! Buffy's in trouble! Spike is chasing after Buffy with a small legion of tiny demons!" Willow exclaimed.

"Bloody Hell!" Ripper snarled, and then he suddenly spun into action to the astonishment of both Snake and Ethan Rayne. The Watcher moved much more quickly than he had the right to, promptly burying a powerful right fist into the guts of Ethan Rayne, followed up by a nasty left hook to the chaos mage's jaw. This promptly dropped Ethan once again to the floor of the costume shop.

"TELL US HOW TO END THE SPELL NOW ETHAN!" Ripper ordered, furious that Ethan's cruel prank that evening had put his Slayer into mortal danger.

"Giles…what…why…?" Willow startled to babble at the sight of Giles' brutal violence.

"Willow. I suggest you leave and check up on Buffy's status. Perhaps even find that Angel fellow and get him to protect Buffy from this so – called Spike." Snake suggested, not knowing who this Spike was, but was sure that he wouldn't be up to any good.

"But…Giles!" Willow protested, before she was interrupted by an angry Watcher.

"Just go Willow! Listen to Solid Snake please! Once we sort out Ethan here, this mess should be sorted out rather quickly and Buffy will return back to normal." The Watcher stated, even as still glared at Ethan Rayne.

"Oh…okay then Giles…" Willow replied as she left the way she came, and headed off to find Angel.

"Now about that spell…" Giles threatened Ethan again, even while Snake had kept the chaos mage in his sights. Snake for now was content on letting Giles handle the situation, but would be ready to step in if required. Ethan gasped in some air while recovering, before slowly replying.

"Oh but you didn't say the magic word…" Ethan began before he was interrupted by Giles kicking him swiftly and viciously in the side of the Chaos Mages' ribs.

"This is your last warning Ethan…." Giles growled.

"You still didn't say the…." Ethan began, before Snake interrupted him. Snake had finally lost patience with Ethan and decided more extreme actions were needed to make the chaos Mage talk.

BLAM! Solid Snake opened fire with his SOCOM pistol and shot Ethan Rayne in the upper thigh.

"Gahhhhh! You bastard, you bloody well shot me in the leg!" Ethan Rayne screamed in pain, even as he clutched at his leg in a vain attempt to stem the bleeding.

"I'll bloody do more than that if you don't provide us with the necessary intelligence that we require Ethan Rayne! I order you to comply, but if not…." Snake ordered, even as he pressed the barrel of the SOCOM pistol directly to Ethan Rayne's groin.

Ethan's eyes open wide, both in terror and surprise that the young man was so ruthless.

_But then again, the lad is now possessed by a special forces solider, if he was telling the truth about that before. And the way the lad is handling that firearm with so much competence, I'm guessing that my Halloween gig is just about up. For now, I'll have to preserve myself and hope an opportunity for escape arises at a later point in time. _Ethan Rayne thought, even as his leg painfully reminded him of the danger that he was now in at the hands of Ripper and the possessed young friend of Ripper and the Slayer.

"Break the bust! Break it, and the spell will end!" Ethan Rayne gasped out in pain, as he realized that he had to give in if he wanted to get out of this not only with his hide intact but some more important body parts as well.

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT.


	9. Chapter 9  Ending the Spell Part I

A/N - Again some mild violence in this chapter. Don't read if you're squeamish. Thanks.

CHAPTER NINE – ENDING THE SPELL PART I

**Previously….**

"Gahhhhh! You bastard, you bloody well shot me in the leg!" Ethan Rayne screamed in pain, even as he clutched at his leg in a vain attempt to stem the bleeding.

"I'll bloody do more than that if you don't provide us with the necessary intelligence that we require Ethan Rayne! I order you to comply, but if not…." Snake ordered, even as he pressed the barrel of the SOCOM pistol directly to Ethan Rayne's groin.

Ethan's eyes open wide, both in terror and surprise that the young man was so ruthless.

"Break the bust! Break it, and the spell will end!" Ethan Rayne gasped out in pain, as he realized that he had to give in if he wanted to get out of this not only with his hide intact but some more important body parts as well.

**And now….**

Earlier in the night Cordy and Angel rushed out of the Summers' residence and began their search of the town for the wayward Slayer. They had been only searching for a few minutes but Angel started to feel a bit more desperate as he realized that the Slayer would be helpless until the spell wore off. And the longer she was alone out in the town on a night like this, the more danger she would be in. Especially, if Spike

_Even more especially if my grand child Spike was on the prowl, looking for an easy kill. _Angel thought to himself somewhat morbidly and grimly.

"You are certain that she came this way?" Cordelia asked even as she started to fight off feelings of frustration and anger at the whole situation of the night. From getting her suit torn and probably not getting her deposit back, then getting attacked by a weird freak of a creature, to all the way seeing Buffy running away from her.

"No." Was Angel's only response.

"She'll be okay. She is the Slayer after all." Cordy said as she tried to lift their spirits with a confidence she really didn't feel at the moment.

"Buffy would be okay. Whoever she is now, she's completely helpless." Angel answered.

"Then what are we standing around here for? Come on, let's find her." Cordelia Chase said in a moment that was totally out of character for her even as she led the charge further down the street in the search for the wayward Slayer.

Unfortunately, neither Cordelia nor Angel had noticed that someone or something was lurking in the nearby shadows and had heard their conversation completely. This being understandable as their concerns over Buffy and their concentration on the matter at hand really had them focused finding and protecting the Slayer.

This lurker was surrounded by a few of the smaller 'child' demons recruited from the attacked on the Summer's residence as well as a couple of regular vampire fledglings that had been recruited by the older vampire as they had met during the chase for the said Slayer after she had escaped from her dwelling.

"Did you hear that, my friends? Somewhere out here is the most tender, juiciest meat that you are ever likely to taste. And all we have to do is find this little lost lamb before Peeches and his human lap dog do." Spike told the group of smaller demons and his minions while he was grinning, an evil and sinister grin.

"Um….boss…I think the Slayer was heading towards that new weird costume shop."  
>A Vampire fledgling told Spike, even as the Master Vampire was still ranting on, at least till the fledgling's words made Spike see sense.<p>

"Well then, what are we all standing around here for then! AFTER HER!" Spike roared out as he led the charge towards the costume shop, while he was grinning, an evil and sinister grin.

It was at that point in time that Willow had managed to catch up to Buffy. She somehow managed to talk the Buffy noblewoman to follow her to a place of safety, despite how the noblewoman kept calling her a low born harlot.

_Damn it Buffy, I know you are possessed, but those words still hurt. Still, I've got to get you to safety as you are helpless as you are now. _Willow thought quickly to herself as she tried to think of what would be the closest safe place available. The library was out as it was too far away, as well as her own home, Xander's and even Buffy's residence. Willow sighed as she knew that the only safe place available was at Ethan's.

She had been ordered by Giles to find Buffy and get her to safety while Giles and Xander took care of Ethan and worked on reversing the spell that Ethan had cast on the costumes. She knew that Giles wouldn't be too happy to see the helpless Slayer anywhere near the likes of Ethan Rayne.

_But what can I do? It is a no win situation here. I'll…be err damned if I do and err…damned if I don't. I just hope Giles will forgive me for taking a chance at Ethan's rather than getting Buffy killed. _Willow thought as she made up her mind to take shelter with Buffy back at Ethan's costume store.

Willow had just barely finished her thoughts as she had caught up with the frightened noblewoman, when she had noticed Angel and Cordelia running towards them. BUT that wasn't all she had noticed. Quickly coming up from behind Angel and Cordelia, Willow had noticed that Spike was coming after them, leading a small pack of 'small demons' and some regular vampires.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Guys we have to run. It's Spike!" Willow babble out in warning to Angel, Cordelia and Buffy.

"Damn it." Angel swore as he noticed Buffy had fainted at the sight of the demons chasing after them. He had no choice; he quickly picked up his beloved and carried her within a fireman's carry.

"What do we do now you freaks?" Cordelia screeched in panic as she too noticed Spike and the group of minions and smaller demons that the Master Vampire was leading.

"Quick guys into the costume store! At least there we can barricade ourselves in while buying time for Giles to end the spell and get Buffy back to normal!" Willow suggested quite loudly, getting the attention of the panicked Cordelia and the concerned Angel.

"Good idea Willow. Everyone, run!" Angel announced as he ran towards the relative safety of the costume shop (while still carrying the fainted Slayer), quickly followed by Cordelia and the ghost form of Willow.

"Oi! You lot! Don't think you can escape from me that easily!" Spike taunted out in the darkness as he led his group of minions after the fleeing Scoobies.

**Meanwhile back in Ethan's costume shop….**

"Break the bust! Break it, and the spell will end!" Ethan Rayne gasped out in pain, as he realized that he had to give in if he wanted to get out of this not only with his hide intact but some more important body parts as well. Snake kept Ethan covered with the SOCOM, even as Rupert Giles started to head over to Ethan's alter to break the bust of Janus that was laying there, when all of the sudden all three were disturbed by an almighty racket coming from just outside the costume shop.

"Good Lord! What the devil is that noise?" Giles asked as he was momentarily distracted from breaking the bust of Janus.

"Sounds like those bloody demon creatures must have found their way to this costume store." Snake suggested quietly, as he began to mentally sum up his options.

"Oh, dear." Giles replied as he started to clean his glasses.

"Well mates, looks like we're in a bit of a pickle now aren't we?" Ethan Rayne remarked sarcastically as he couldn't help himself taunting Ripper.

"Shut up you!" Snake snarled back at Ethan even as he swiftly and viciously kicked Ethan where he had previously shot the Chaos Mage in the leg.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrh!" Ethan screamed out in pain from Snake's brutal kick. Ethan came close to blacking out, not just from the blood loss from the bullet wound, but also from the various injuries that Snake and Ripper had both inflicted upon him earlier that night.

"My dear, Ethan. I told you to be careful about my young friend and that I wouldn't be able to hold him back for very long. Please do be quiet before my young friend does something quiet foolish." Ripper warned Ethan in a deadly, yet icy cold tone.

Some more noises could be heard, quickly followed by what seemed to be a group of people entering the store and quickly slamming the door behind them.

"Giles! We've got trouble! It's Spike and he's got minions and real vampires with him! And he's after Buffy!" Willow loudly babbled out loud, even as she appeared back in the storeroom of the shop with Snake and the Watcher.

"Oh bloody hell! That particular vampire is just what we need right now!" Giles swore.

"Don't worry, I'll hold him back. I have a few surprises for this clown!" Snake said confidently, even as he holstered his SOCOM and reached for the FA-MAS that he had strapped over one shoulder.

"Good Lord! I'll say Snake, is that a machine gun?" Giles asked even as he watched Snake check the weapon for potential jams, as well as putting in a fresh magazine into the weapon.

"Damn right Mr Giles. I'm going to send this Spike punk running, whoever he is. If he's too god damned stupid not to run, I'm going to turn him into Swiss Cheese!" Snake replied with an evil grin that promised a lot of pain and violence.

"But guns don't kill vampires!" Willow protested, afraid that her best friend and secret crush might get himself killed by the spirit that was currently possessing the body of the said best friend and secret crush.

"Ah – but can they still be injured?" Snake asked with a grin that told people he knew a secret that nobody else knew.

"Ah yes. They can, but vampires do have quite the remarkable regenerative capabilities." Giles started to lecture before he suddenly was cut off by Solid Snake.

"And how good are those regenerative capabilities Mr Giles? Can they for instance, heal limbs that have been completely blown off? Or what about blowing the vampire's head off?" Snake asked even as he smirked.

"Well if you can take a head off a vampire's body, they will die and turn to dust instantly. As for the limbs, the vampire in question would need at least 24 hours and a lot of blood in order to fully recover. Depending on the strength, and the power levels of the vampire in question." Giles explained as he went into Watcher mode.

"Still even if we break the bust now, we still have to be wary of Spike, and we will NEED to buy the time required for the Slayer to recover." Snake said with logic. He was a soldier after all, and it was his job to protect civilians, not some sixteen year old cheerleader from California.

"Still, going out isn't very wise…" Giles tried to talk Snake out of his current course of action before be was rudely interrupted by the sneering and sarcastic Ethan Rayne.

"Oh please….Spare me this load of bollocks…" Ethan complained out loud, before Snake had decided he had enough and went over to Ethan, un-holstered his SO-COM and pistol whipped the Chaos Mage over his head with the said SOCOM pistol. After that, the Chaos Mage went out like a light.

"Here Giles, take this. I assume you know enough about guns that you won't shoot your own feet off?" Snake asked even as he handed the SOCOM over to the Watcher.

"Well as shamed as I am to admit it, I have used one or two pistols back in my past.." Giles started to explain as he took the pistol and checked it.

"Good. If that prick Ethan moves or tries anything funny before I get back, just shoot the bastard!"

"Xander…!" Willow protested.

"Miss, I told you before. It's Snake. Solid Snake. I maybe only a temporarily guest here, but it's still Solid Snake." Snake replied with a sigh.

"As for now, I've got a job to do." Snake said with confidence. He armed himself with the FA-MAS and headed towards the store door, where Angel and Cordelia were starting to barricade it with anything they could get their hands on.

"Get out of my way! I'm going to deal with this Spike bastard that everyone is so afraid of!" Snake announced.

"What the hell? Where did the dork get a machine gun from?" Cordy screeched as she noticed the heavy firepower that Solid Snake was carrying.

"Snake? Spike's very dangerous. Going out will get you killed." Angel started to protest, despite his dislike for the boy, he really didn't want the lad to get killed at the hands of his grand child, William the Bloody.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. This shouldn't take too long." Snake replied back to the souled vampire with a smirk.

"Still, going out is not very smart…." Angel said in response.

"Yeah you should listen to Angel, Xander…" Cordy started to put her two cents in, despite Xander being a dork, she didn't want him to get himself killed either.

"And how long do you think it will take Spike to get in here? Those large front windows are just begging to be smashed in." Snake replied with cold reason and logic.

"Crap." Was all the response that Angel could manage to that last statement made by Solid Snake, as Angel realized that Solid Snake was correct.

END OF CHAPTER NINE.


	10. Chapter 10 Ending the Spell Part II

A/N – thanks for the reviews and thanks for FTFCHRIS pointing out that my stories are starting to get a tad bit too similar ROFL I didn't mean for this to happen but I will do my best to make things different for now on. I'm only new to writing at any level(s) so I'm still learning. Thanks a lot for the advice.

Bear in mind this fan fiction has only just started LOL there's a long way to go – I'm just cheating a little by using my Cap America fic as a template to get the story started / going. Yeah I know – cheating's bad but in the immortal words of Auron and Tidus from FFX – _**THIS IS MY STORY ! LOL ! **_Just kidding. All sound advice and constructive criticism is welcomed.

A/N 2 – Thanks to GenoBeast for pointing out my inconsistency with Willow's character. Don't forget at this point in the show the characters are only 15 years approximately so a little bit of immaturity and hurt feelings is to be expected lol.

A/N 3 – Enough bulls**t from me, lets get on with the story! WARNING MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!

A/N 4 – This will be slightly out of cannon and AU from now on after all THIS IS MY STORY - LOL

CHAPTER TEN – ENDING THE SPELL PART II

Snake exited the costume shop of Ethan Rayne, and confronted the master vampire Spike along with his bunch of fledglings as well as the smaller 'demons' that he had previously recruited earlier in the night. Angel had reluctantly decided to join him, in an effort to stop the boy from getting himself killed at the violent hands of William the Bloody. Cordelia remained behind in the shop however, to look after the frightened Buffy who had still to regain her senses after fainting at the sight of Spike's horde chasing the group on their way to the costume shop. Spike called his group to a halt as he noticed the pair of scoobies leaving the store and standing in front of them.

"Oi! Look at that! What do we have here, eh? If it isn't the bloody whelp and the grand poof of a sire, bloody Angel!" Spike taunted even as he was addressing his own minions who growled back at the Sunnydale heroes.

"You boys must have a bloody death wish coming out here all by your lonesome's to face us, mates. Angel you big poof, at least you should have known better." Spike snarled at his grand sire.

"Give it up Spike. We've beaten you every time we've crossed paths. What makes you think that this time will be any different?" Angel asked as he sneered back at Spike in defiance.

"Well, I'm bloody thinking that there's no damned, annoying, pain in the butt, bloody Slayer to back you boys up. That's what I'm thinking." Spike returned Angel's sneer with interest.

"Who says we need a Slayer to help us fight riff raff like you!" Solid Snake sarcastically taunted the blonde vampire wearing the black coat, otherwise known as Spike.

"Well, well! Big words coming from the mouth of the bloody Whelp! Just f**king great. Who the hell do you think you are mate?" Spike sneered at the boy with contempt. Spike truly thought at that moment the Angel was the true threat, the boy was just a small insect waiting to be squashed. But if he had known the truth, he would have realized it would be more likely to be the other way around.

"My name is Snake. Solid Snake. Keep that in mind when I send you all the way to hell!" Snake taunted back at the vampire, even as he brought up his FA-MAS to bear.

"Well, well! Looks like the whelp has a fancy toy to play with! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! DO you know that GUNS don't kill vampires boy." Spike warned the boy, even as he was about to attack.

"Ha! But my gun is special. You can either make like a tree and leave, or you get get your head blown off. Either way is fine with me." Snake warned Spike.

Something was worrying Spike. The boy showed no fear, and was far too confident for his liking. Even worse, Angel wasn't looking worried about the boy's safety and to Spike, it looked like his grand poof of a sire knew something. Something was niggling at the back of his mind, and then it suddenly hit Spike as he remembered.

_"Someone's has changed it all. Someone, new. But we must beware of the nasty Snake because he will bite us if we try to hurt the slayer." Drusilla replied._

_"A, Snake? Who's going to bite us? Surely it can't be Peeches?" Spike asked with a groan as the mere though of his grand sire Angel made him sick._

With that realization that the one Dru was talking about was actually the bloody whelp, Spike laughed out loud.

_Oh this is just f**king great. My bloody insane seer of a sire told me to be careful around the bloody whelp! Ha! The boy couldn't even fight his way out of a wet paper bag, let alone take me on! The Big Bad! Ha! I'm going to dust the poof, then rip the guts out of the bloody annoying whelp, then I'll FINALLY bag me a third Slayer! _Spike thought viciously to himself.

"Angel, get your self ready. I've got some tricks up my sleeve that should even the odds here greatly. Perhaps put them back in our favor." Snake whispered to Angel while Spike seemed to drift off mentally.

"What kind of tricks?" Angel asked suspicious as to what the boy was planning.

"Never, mind that. You've got to trust me here if we're to prevent these hostiles getting into the costume store and attacking the helpless civilians." Snake explained quickly and quietly underneath his breath to get Angel to agree. With the mention of protecting helpless civilians, it was an easy sell. Especially since BUFFY was one of those helpless civilians.

"Agreed." Angel replied as he steadied himself for a long and hard fight that was sure to come.

_I just hope the boy, despite his Halloween possession, knows what he is doing. Buffy is in deep trouble here, and we have to pull out all the stops if we're going to save her from Spike and his bloody minions. _Angel thought to himself as he prepared for the onslaught that was sure to come.

Spike broke himself out of his mental stupor and was about to order his minions to attack. Why risk him self, when he could get his minions to wear down the two do gooders, and then he could take them out with minimal risk and effort. Spike was eagerly anticipating the violence to come, when things went all pear shaped on him.

Snake let fly with a Chaff Grenade. Ordinarily this kind of grenade was harmless to organic life forms, as it was primarily designed to jam and mess with electronic systems like security cameras and electronic booby traps. But Snake knew that, he intended for the loud bang and the flash of the grenade going off to disorient his enemies for a few precious seconds.

The Chaff grenade was quite effective against the smaller 'demons'. They were in fact just children possessed by their costumes. But the loud explosive noise and bright flash caused by the grenade scared all the little 'monsters'. So much so that all the little tykes ran off into the darkness, in search of easier prey.

"Oi! Were the hell are all you lot going?" Spike yelled after them in annoyance.

"Um Boss, Angel and that whelp are about to attack." A nervous fledgling vampire told his boss, and Spike quickly regained his focus and dragged his attention back on the whelp and the grand poof.

_Bloody hell! Looks like the whelp is all full of surprises after all. Just like Dru said. Well bollocks to this! I don't like the look of that fancy gun of his, and who knows if he's carrying more powerful grenades than that the one he just used to scare off all my smaller minions. Guess I'll have to…BLOODY HELL! _Spike mentally screamed as he heard the whelp fire off that machine gun of his. Spike having lasted over one hundred years by not taking any chances, quickly pushed two of his fledgling vampire recruits in front of him to take the fire before Spike decided discretion was the better part of valor and decided to make a run for it.

Snake's FA-MAS opened fire upon the fledglings to deadly affect, for the FA-MAS normally had high stopping power at medium range. And this was a pretty much CLOSE range. Not only that, but the FA-MAS was not loaded with regular ammunition, but in fact, Armour piecing, explosive and incinerator rounds, which proved themselves most deadly to the vampires Snake had aimed at. The first vampire hit quickly caught on fire before being dusted. The next one wasn't so lucky, getting both legs blown off, before being dusted with the loss of it's head via deadly and pin point accuracy from Snake. The few remaining vampires knew that the gun that the so called whelp carried was deadly to them so they ran. The last few being picked off of course by Snake, who managed successful head shots on all the fleeing survivors. Unfortunately, Spike was not amongst the ones dusted.

"Bloody Hell!" Was all that Angel could remark, shocked as to the amount of violence and skill as displayed by the boy and his gun.

"I told him my gun was special." Snake turned to Angel and smirked.

"Damn…I want one." Angel remarked even as he began to sulk and brood at the same time.

"No time to waste Angel. We better check up on the civilians and that precious Buffy of yours." Snake remarked before suddenly he was engulfed in a magical backlash that cause him to black out and he promptly collapsed out on the street.

"Geez. Why me?" Angel sighed, even as he picked up the prone body of Xander and dragged him into the costume shop. It would prove to be a long night for the vampire, as the aftermath of the evening's event would have significant fallout amongst the scoobies. Angel re-entered the shop to find a furious and crying Buffy consoling Cordelia who was also in the grip of tears.

"Hey Spike ran away and….what's going on?" Angel asked as he realized something was wrong. Buffy seemed to be back to herself but something seemed to be off with both of the girls.

_Hmmm. Speaking of which...where the hell has Willow gone? _Angel thought as he was starting to dread what could have possibly happened in the costume shop.

"No! It's my entire fault!" Buffy wailed as the Slayer began to break down, which brought Angel swiftly out of his thoughts.

"No Buffy, it's mine!" Cordelia protested, and instantly Angel knew something was TERRIBLY wrong as it was way out of Cordelia's character to apologize for anything.

"No! I can't believe it, but it's mine!" Buffy was crying harder and wailing at the same time. Angel had no idea what had happened inside while he was outside with Xander confronting Spike, but he knew he had to get to the bottom of this quickly.

"Can someone please tell me just what has happened?" Angel asked softly as he could.

"Ethan…he…Giles…he" Buffy started to babble before she broke down crying again.

"Cordy?" Angel asked the cheerleader, hoping she could be more of a help than Buffy.

"I…" Cordelia started to sob as she couldn't get the words out.

"Can anyone one at least tell me where Willow is?" Angel asked.

"I think once the spell was broken, she went back to her own body." Buffy replied even as she sniffed and tried to hold back tears and be a strong Slayer.

"So she's okay?" Angel asked hesitantly.

"I guess so…" Buffy whimpered even as she and Cordelia hugged and sobbed.

"So why the tears?" Angel asked confused.

"It's Giles…he's…" Buffy started but broke down in tears again. Angel walked over to the Slayer, after putting the unconscious Xander on the floor and allowed the Slayer a hug of comfort.

"Come on Buffy. You can tell me. Please let me help." Angel asked gently, even as he gently rocked the Slayer and held her in his arms.

"It's Giles…" The Slayer told him.

"I know, you said something about Giles. Did something happen?" Angel asked with a bad feeling starting to creep into the pit of his stomach about this whole situation.

"Yes. Oh god Angel. It's all my fault!" Buffy moaned as she sobbed into Angel's chest.

"What is Buffy?" Angel asked as gently as he could.

"Oh my god Angel. It's Giles…oh my god.. Giles is…oh god…Giles is dead! HE'S DEAD ANGEL!" Buffy wailed out loud and started crying her eyes out, with Cordelia not being much better but was currently looking over the prone body of Xander Harris and hoping the dork was okay.

END OF CHAPTER 10.


	11. Chapter 11 Interlude

CHAPTER 11 – INTERLUDE

On the floor of Ethan Rayne's costume shop during the aftermath from the chaos of that infamous Halloween, an unconscious Xander was dreaming of events that were lived by the entirely fictional, yet at the same time, the all too real Solid Snake. In his dream scape, one Xander Harris was relieving the events that had made Snake into such a formidable warrior, and most of those events weren't very pleasant. Most were quite violent and gruesome, especially in the assignments that Solid Snake was asked of by his immediate superiors. And some experiences at the hands of Revolver Ocelot made Xander to feel like he wanted to throw up. _Interrogation Specialist Indeed! Ha!_ However, on this particular night, Xander was reliving the events that Snake experienced during the Shadow Moses Mission.

"It's been a long time Snake." An old yet very experienced voice called out to Snake in the darkness.

"I should have known that you were behind this Colonel." Xander could hear Snake reply in his dream, even as Solid Snake silently cursed the older man for his current predicament.

"That's no way to greet an old war buddy, snake." The Colonel replied, with a touch of amusement in his voice.

"What do you want from me?" Snake asked somewhat impatiently and frustrated at being captured by the Colonel's goons for whatever idiotic mission they wanted him to go on next.

"Oh, I just invited you here so we can have a little talk." The Colonel replied, without prematurely giving any intelligence away to Solid Snake.

"Invited! Is that what you call sending armed soldiers after me?" Snake replied with a hint of anger in his voice, annoyed at the Colonel's tactics.

"Sorry if they were a little rough with you Snake. But a serious situation has arisen here. Only YOU can get us out of it." The Colonel replied, indeed being sincere in his apology to Solid Snake.

"I'm retired from FOX-HOUND. You're not my commander anymore Colonel and I don't have to take orders from you or anyone else for that matter." Snake taunted.

The Colonel sighed at Snake's antics, he knew this wasn't going to be easy, but still the Colonel continued on, hoping to get Snake on board for this mission.

"You will take these orders. I know it." The Colonel stated calmly, before he was interrupted by a feminine voice.

"Excuse me."

"Who's this?" Snake asked, wondering who the lady was who had just entered his cell.

"Dr Naomi Hunter. She's the chief of FOX-HOUND's medical staff and an expert in Gene Therapy." The Colonel explained.

"Are you military?" A suspicious Snake asked, even as he ignored the Colonel's explanation.

"No, civilian. I've been sent here from the ATGC. It is a pleasure to meet you Solid Snake." Dr Namoi Hunter replied quite calmly, despite Snake's hostility.

Xander's dreams started to become less detailed as he continued to 'relive' Snake's life. From getting the injection from Namoi and being told that the said injections containing nano-machines and some various medical drugs that would be of a great assistance on his upcoming mission. His dreams became more detailed, when Xander got up to the mission briefing that the Colonel had given Solid Snake.

"Snake, listen up. It all went down five hours ago. Heavily armed soldiers attacked and occupied Shadow Moses Island, a remote island off the coast of Alaska." The Colonel began.

"What soldiers?" Snake asked.

"Next-Generation Special Forces led by members of unit FOX-HOUND. Your former unit, and one that I was a commander of." The Colonel said, somewhat grimly.

"FOX-HOUND? Why? Have they issued any demands?" Snake asked, with a sense of urgency coming from a feeling that he knew that the shit had hit the fan on this one.

"The terrorists have presented Washington with a single demand, and they say if it isn't met, then they'll launch a nuclear weapon." The Colonel's reply was grave.

"A NUCLEAR WEAPON?" Snake almost shouted alarmed at the prospect that a nuclear weapon could have fallen into terrorist hands.

"I'm afraid so." The Colonel replied as he shook his head before beginning again.

"You see, the island is the site of a secret nuclear weapons disposal facility."

"So FOX-HOUND has decided to hijack a nuclear weapon?" Snake asked, even as he was trying to get his head around the situation, and just what the hell was going on.

"Now YOU understand how serious this situation is Snake. You'll have two mission objectives. First, you're to rescue the DARPA Chief, Donald Anderson, and the President of ArmsTech, Kenneth Baker. They're both being held as hostages." The Colonel explained to Snake.

"Those are some heavy duty hostages." Snake replied even as the seriousness of the situation began to hit home to him.

"Secondly, you're to investigate whether or not the terrorists have the capability to launch a nuclear strike, and STOP them if they do. Any questions Snake?" The Colonel asked as he ended his basic briefing.

"Questions? I haven't even said whether or not I would accept this mission." Snake argued, but his heart wasn't really into it. He knew he had to go if FOX-HOUND and the terrorists were to be stopped. No one else had a chance in hell to stop them.

"Well, you can make up your mind after you hear more detailed information about the situation." The Colonel replied, trying to play the peacemaker.

"Well, then tell me about the nuclear weapons disposal facility. What am I up against, terrain wise?" Snake asked.

"Well the disposal facility includes a hardened underground base. Even with our most advanced intelligence gathering equipment, we can't tell what's happening inside." A reluctant and a very disappointed Colonel told Snake.

_Here's hoping the lack of quality intelligence won't dissuade Solid Snake from undertaking this mission. It's absolutely critical Snake goes, as he's the only soldier on the face of the planet who has a chance at taking the renegade members of FOX-HOUND down. _A grim Colonel Roy Campbell thought before Snake's reply broke him out of his train of thoughts.

"So someone needs to penetrate, gather intelligence, and report back…almost sounds like a James Bond film. What's the insertion method?" Snake asked.

"Well an air insertion is impossible." Colonel Campbell stated.

"Not with this storm going on." Snake snorted in reply.

"We'll have to approach the disposal facility by sub."

"Approach?" Snake asked, surprised at the Colonel's reply.

"Yes. We can only get as close as a couple miles from it due to the facility being equipped with a state of the art sonar detection capability. WE can't risk getting closer than that or they'll be able to hear our engine or propeller noise."

"And then?" Snake asked, even as he gestured for Colonel Campbell to continue.

"We'll launch a one man Swimmer Delivery Vehicle or SDV for short."

"Launch?" Snake asked, even as he started to get a very bad feeling about the whole mess.

"It is similar to a torpedo. Only this SDV has no propulsion device of its own and shouldn't be picked up on the sonar detection network. After the SDV gets as close as it can, dispose of it. From there on you'll have to swim."

Xander's dream became a bit fuzzy after that, as Dr Namoi Hunter explained the purposes of the nano-machines, Snake's sneaking suit as well as the medical drugs she had injected into Solid Snake. Xander didn't really understand much of what she was saying, and ironically enough, Snake didn't really either at the time, other than it would stop him from freezing to death. And that was good enough for the veteran special forces soldier from FOX-HOUND.

"You shouldn't really have any problems getting to the island. I'll contact you by Codec after you reach your target destination." Colonel Campbell told Snake.

"Is anyone going with me?" Snake asked, but knew from experience that the answer would be in the negative.

"No. As usual, this is a one-man infiltration mission." Campbell answered.

"Weapons and equipment OSP (On Site Procurement) I assume?" Snake halfheartedly asked.

"Yes. This is a top secret black op. We can't afford anything being traced back to us. Oh and one more thing – don't expect any official support either." Campbell warned Snake.

"Great. Just, f**king great." Snake swore quietly underneath his breath.

"Any other questions Snake?" Colonel Campbell asked.

"Yeah. What business does the DARPA Chief and the President of an arms manufacturing company have at a nuclear weapons disposal facility? Something smells off about this whole situation." Snake stated and looked Colonel Campbell in the eyes.

The Colonel sighed, knowing that Snake deserved part of the truth, even if he was prohibited from revealing too much intelligence from his immediate superiors.

"The truth is that secret exercises were being conducted at the time that the terrorist group attack."

"They must be extremely important exercises, if those two were directly involved. Were they testing some kind of new advanced weapons?" Snake asked.

"Sorry Snake, I'm not privy to that information." Colonel Campbell replied. Snake accepted the answer, but didn't actually believe the truth of it for a second.

"Do we know where the hostages are being held?" Snake asked in an attempt to change the topic of conversation.

"Not precisely no. But the DARPA chief has been injected with a mini transmitter. As you get closer, you should be able to pick up his location through your nano-machines upon your radar." Colonel Campbell explained.

"Hmmmm. Do they really have the capability to launch a nuclear weapon?" Snake asked, even as he switched tracks and train of thought again.

"They say that they do. They even gave us the serial number of the warhead they plan to use." Campbell answered grimly enough to cause Snake's heart to sink.

"Was the number confirmed?" Snake asked even as he was afraid of what the Colonel's answer would be.

"I'm afraid so. At the very least, they've got their hands on a real and fully functional nuclear warhead."

"Isn't there some kind of safety device to prevent this sort of nuclear terrorism?" Snake asked Campbell.

"Yes Snake. Every missile and warhead in our arsenal is equipped with a PAL, which uses a discreet detonation code." Colonel Campbell answered Snake's query.

"PAL?" A confused Snake asked.

"Permissive Action Link. A safety control system built into all nuclear weapons. But even so, we can't rest easy." The Colonel replied.

"Why not?" Snake asked, even as he began to think of various reasons as to why not.

"Because the DARPA Chief knows the detonation code."

"And if the terrorists torture him…." Snake replied, even as he trailed off with his answer.

"Yes. Then the terrorists might be able to get the code that way." Colonel Campbell replied grimly.

"But even if they have a warhead and get the code, the warhead itself must have been removed from its actual missile. All missiles on these disposal sites are supposed to be dismantled. It's not that easy to get your hands on an ICBM." Snake said somewhat pleadingly, even as he knew he was only clutching at straws.

"That used to be true, but since the end of the Cold War, you can get anything if you have enough money and the right connections." The Colonel explained calmly.

"Damn." Snake swore mildly.

Xander's dreams became more frightening to the young man, as even he could realize the implications of what would happen to the free world if a nuclear device would fall into the hands of a terrorist group. Xander instinctively knew that what he was dreaming was all fictional and none of it had actually happened. But that wasn't a real reason as to say that such a possibility couldn't arise in the 'real world'. Xander just hoped and prayed that it wouldn't happen, and that those in authority wouldn't be so careless as to leave nuclear weapons lying around unguarded. Xander's dream that night continued, and the young man became more disturbed at what he saw in the dream.

"So what are the terrorists' actually demanding?" Snake asked.

"A person's remains." Was Colonel Campbell's only reply.

"Remains?" Snake asked, wondering what the hell why someone would ask for that.

"That's right. To be more accurate Snake, cell specimens which contain a individual's genomic information."

"Cell, specimens? Why would they need that?" A confused Snake asked.

"The terrorists need them. You see these Next- Generation Special forces have been strengthened through Gene Therapy."

"Strengthened?" Snake asked somewhat disbelieving of the Colonel's answer.

"You've heard of the Human Genome Project. They've mapped the human genome, and the project is nearing completion. As a follow up to this research, the Military has been working towards identifying those genes which make the most effective soldiers." Colonel Campbell explained.

Xander kind of drifted off, as his dream went through Dr Naomi Hunter's explanation of what exactly what Gene Therapy was and how it could be used to create superior soldiers. The science went completely over poor Xander's head, just as it had confused Solid Snake. Xander was alarmed at a prospect that super soldiers could be created just be messing with the DNA of a human being. To Xander, it sounded very much like a concept from a comic book. But that was as far as his dream went that particular night, as he was woken up quiet rudely and very suddenly by someone shaking him awake.

END OF CHAPTER 11


	12. Chapter 12 Tragedy

A/N – This chapter will be my first ever attempt at emotional / angst content in a fan fiction, so please be kind with your reviews people, LOL. Any constructive criticism will be highly valued here, as I want to improve my writing folks!

A/N 2 – I would like to thank Wonderbee31 for his reviews and I would like to say this without giving too much away. Ethan is going to get the OCELOT treatment sooner rather than later. FANS of METAL GEAR SOLID will know what I'm talking about with this line. LOL.

CHAPTER 12 – TRAGEDY

Xander Harris woke up with a splitting headache. He almost wished that he was dead, so bad was his headache. It didn't help that someone unknown yet familiar at the same time, was constantly shaking him to wake up whilst calling out his name. Xander almost wished a curse upon that person, but thought better of it because the town of Sunnydale was the location of the Hell Mouth after all.

"Xander! Wake up, Xander!" That unknown, yet familiar and feminine voice called out to Xander.

"Huh? What? Just another five minutes…." Xander managed to mumble out in his current state of confusion, not knowing who that person was who was currently attempting to wake him up. Xander promptly tried to go back to sleep.

"Please Xander! Wake up!" The unknown yet familiar voice pleaded, as she tried again in vain to rouse Xander from his slumber.

"Ughhhhhhh….." Xander mumbled again as he tried to rise himself to full consciousness.

"God damn it dork boy! Wake up this instant or I'll tell the whole school that you are Larry's secret gay lover!" The voice changed into a very sarcastic and biting tone. One such tone that was all too familiar to one Xander Harris. This caused him to quickly rise up from his current stupor.

"Cordy?" Xander croaked as he finally came to.

"Xander..thank god…" Cordy managed before regaining herself. "Get your lazy ass off the floor dork boy! We really need you!" Cordelia taunted Xander, though she was still on the verge of tears. Xander Harris may have failed at many things in his short but eventful life so far, but knowing when a beautiful girl was in distress wasn't one of them.

"Cordy? What's wrong? And who is, this we?" Xander asked as he struggled to get up from where he lay on the floor of the costume shop.

"Oh please. You wish you dork." Cordelia snarked back, even though she was somewhat secretly relieved that Xander appeared to be okay.

Xander managed to get to his feet, albeit somewhat unsteadily. He took in his current surroundings and noticed a few things. First, try as she might to hide it, one Cordelia Chase was relieved to see him unharmed and safe, once again walking on his own two feet. That kind of news was never good. Second, Xander noticed that his oldest and best friend Willow Rosenberg was no where to been seen currently at this point of time. Thirdly, and probably the most alarming fact to Xander so far, was that Buffy Summers was currently being held in Angel's arms, even as she was crying her pretty little eyes out.

"What the hell?" Xander mumbled as he tried to clear the cobwebs out of his mind, as well as try to forget one hell of a strange dream that he just had.

"Why am I back in Ethan's costume store? Why is Buffy crying? Where the hell is my best bud Willow? And where the hell is the G-Man?" Xander asked out aloud, mainly to himself, but Buffy managed to hear him with her Slayer hearing, which caused her to start off in a new chain of sobs and cries. Angel managed to glare at Xander for causing the Slayer to cry again, but in his current state of confusion and lack of orientation, Xander promptly ignored it.

"Way to go you insensitive jerk!" Cordelia shouted at Xander, even as she backhanded the back of Xander's head. Xander was confused as to why or what he could have done or said to deserve that backhand.

"Ow! Geez! What the hell did I say? Could someone please tell me just what the hell is going on here?" Xander asked with a large degree of confusion.

"Don't even pretend that you don't know!" Cordelia accused Xander with a large degree of venom and anger in her voice.

"But Cordy, I really don't know what's going on here." Xander protested despite Cordelia's angry glare at him. None the less, Xander pressed on and continued.

"The last thing I knew was that I was escorting some pack of unruly brats for Halloween and then everything went black." Xander replied, as he held up his hands to try to placate the angry Queen C.

"But…" Cordelia was about to taunt and insult Xander again, when Angel of all people, interrupted her and managed to defend poor Xander.

"Cordelia, I don't think he knows. He was possessed by his costume just like Willow and Buffy. And considering his costume, I think the night's magic affected Xander more than most." Angel defended Xander, even while he continued to comfort Buffy.

"Huh?" Was Xander's, less than articulate, reply. Xander was totally confused. Not only was Buffy crying, but Deadboy of all people, was actually defending him!

"And what the hell do you mean affected more than most?" Xander asked somewhat suspiciously of Angel, even though the vampire really didn't deserve it this time.

"You really don't know?" Cordelia asked, even as she started to believe Angel's theory about Xander.

"Hell, no! I don't know why I here, where the hell is Willow, why Buffy and you Cordelia seem to be so upset, or where the hell is the G-Man? Come on people, work with me here! I need some information!" Xander ranted out loud, much in frustration at his predicament more than anything else.

"Xander…"Cordelia started than trailed off, when finally realizing that Xander truly didn't know that one Rupert Giles was actually dead.

"Guys come on. Please tell me. What, ever it is. The suspense is killing me." Xander pleaded, as he started to get a very bad feeling that whatever it is that the scoobie gang wasn't telling him must be really, really bad. Like Hell Mouth kind of bad.

"Xander…please…" Buffy started, even as she tried to conquer her own grief, sorrow and sobs.

"Buffy, you're scaring me….." Xander half whispered, as he finally realized how bad this situation must be if the Slayer was affected so badly.

"Buffy, he deserves to know the truth. He knew Giles as well as any of us." Angel told Buffy grimly, which only served to affect Xander's chaotic emotional state even further.

"G-Man? This has something to do with Giles? Please Buffy, please tell me that he's okay!" Xander pleaded with Buffy, looking into her eyes as he hoped nothing had happened to the Watcher. But Buffy's eyes were full of sorrow and sadness, and instantly Xander knew that something really bad had happened to Giles. The man, whom Xander had looked up to. A man, whom was more of a father to Xander than his own, one Anthony 'Tony' Harris.

"No…..Nooooooooooooooooo!" Xander cried out, as the truth finally sunk into him at last. Xander collapsed to his knees as the truth of the tragedy crashed into him, his grief and his tears clearly visible upon his face. But Xander didn't care at that moment what the others thought of him. The man who he had saw as his father, rather than the drunk who had some how impregnated his mother, was now dead. Cordelia quickly came to hug Xander and offer him her comfort, quickly followed by Buffy. Angel held back, feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation, but still feeling sympathy for the boy, for with the death of one Rupert Giles, the whole world had suffered a tremendous loss. The world just didn't know it yet.

**Meanwhile, else where in the town of Sunnydale…**

Beneath the sheet that was currently covering a corpse on the front porch of Mrs Parker's house, a heart beat started up. Then the body beneath the sheet finally came back to life, as a loud gasp for air could be heard as the sheet was suddenly thrown off. One Willow Rosenberg had come back to life with the reversal of the spell, but not everything would be the same as she had remembered it.

"Oh god…oh my god…Giles…." Willow cried softly, as she too bore witness to the events that had conspired to end the life of Buffy's Watcher.

"Giles…" Willow cried softly, as she allow her grief to run down her face, as she sat silently upon the porch, wishing that there was something she could have done to prevent the death of Rupert Giles.

After what seemed to be an indeterminable yet, lengthy amount of time, Willow threw the Ghost sheet away in disgust, she had brought it from that villain Ethan Rayne, Willow now associated that ghost sheet with absolute evil. She vowed from that night on, that she would never; ever dress up as a ghost on Halloween ever again. And if she ever got her hands on that vile Ethan Rayne, she would some how find the magic to flay the very skin from his bones.

**Else where, in a quiet and abandoned factory on the outskirts of Sunnydale….**

Spike was ranting. Spike was livid. Spike was greatly annoyed as well as completely pissed off. Once again the Slayer had escaped his clutches, only this time it was thanks to the grand poof and the bloody whelp, which had thwarted his evil schemes.

_I swear I will get my revenge on those two. The whelp will die a painful death for his interference, and the grand poof will get what has been coming to him for the last one hundred years! _ Spike mentally raged, even as he paced around the abandoned factory, snarling at sneering at any fledgling that dared to get close to him.

"Boss you must calm down or….." A brave or rather very stupid and idiotic fledgling tried to reason with Spike, only to have its own head ripped off, in Spike's blood thirsty rage, violence and frustration. The Fledgling off course promptly turned to dust.

"Oi! You lot! Any one else want a piece of the Big Bad?" Spike taunted, sneered at and, challenged his minions. Not one of them was game or brave enough to take up the challenge after they saw what happened to the fledgling.

"Bloody hell! I'm surrounded by complete wankers, tossers and cowards. That's what I'm surrounded by!" Spike snarled out in anger and disgust. Most of the minions backed away, trying to avoid Spike's wrath. Most would have run away, if they knew of a way to survive the wrath of both Spike and his insane sire and seer, Drusilla.

_God damn those two do gooders. If it weren't for them, I would've have bagged by third Slayer by now. Still, Dru did warn me about the whelp being the damned Snake, so I suppose I can cut her some bloody slack. Not like these sods I have for bloody minions. But still, it's not like that I need to cut Dru some slack, with her being by sire and love and all. Damn, she's probably the only competent ally I've got and she's mad conking bonkers! Still, it's the bloody principal of the thing! These bloody minions don't bloody well measure up like they used to in the old days! _Spike mentally thought and ranted to himself as he continued to pace up and now within the factory.

_I will get my revenge! One of these days, those do gooders will run out of luck, and when that happens, I swear to Satan himself, that I will be there to finish the bloody sods off! _Spike finished off his mental rants, by quickly grabbing a bottle of Jack Daniels from a nearby table, and proceeded to quickly drink the entire lot.

END OF CHAPTER 12


	13. Chapter 13  A Time of Grief

A/N 1 – I'm sorry to hear that GenoBeast has lost interest in this story. But I have to say it isn't drama for drama sakes. Without giving too much away, there is a reason behind killing off Giles, and it's linked to the MGS story line BUT that's all I'm going to say as it will be for much LATER on. REAL Fans of the MSG series will probably guess what I have in mind for later on in the story. LOL.

A/N 2 – Yeah, GenoBeast makes a good point about my fight scene when Snake is shooting at the vamps. Still, I'm not a professional and my fight scenes suck balls so please keep that in mind lol. However, you raise some valid points which I will consider. Still, have you considered that Snake wanted to cause pain first and then dust the vampires? Lol.

CHAPTER 13 – A Time of Grief

**Two weeks after that fateful Halloween Night…..**

The funeral for Rupert Giles was a very small and sombre affair, being laid to rest in one of Sunnydale's cemeteries, rather than being buried back in his native England. The scoobies were very saddened and surprised at this, at least until Angel filled them in properly about the Watcher's Council being essentially a bunch of old fashioned tight a**es, plus the fact that Rupert had some falling out previous with the Head of the Council, one Quinton Travers.

Angel was saddened about the passing of the Watcher, but as he was a vampire, it was impractical for him to attend the funeral, least he turn to dust under the glaring rays of the sun. Buffy was very angry and annoyed at Giles' treatment at the hands of the Council, verging almost upon the brink of rebellion and cutting ties with the Council altogether, before Angel managed to convince her that abandoning the Council now wouldn't be what Giles wanted. Willow quickly supported Angel and said that Giles' death shouldn't be in vain, while Joyce Summers offered her only daughter her love and support as she helped Buffy through this difficult time.

Xander Harris however, reminder silent. A very deadly silent, as he began to fantasize about all the methods he could employ to make one foolish Quinton Travers suffer in the most painful and deadly of ways.

_Quinton Travers…welcome to my shit list…oh yes, welcome to my little list…_Xander thought viciously, as he too was both angered and frustrated at the way the Council was handling Giles' death. It was almost like the Council was denying that Rupert had even existed, just so that Mr Travers and the rest of the Council could have their precious plausible deniability.

_If it wasn't for deadboy…ah Angel, I guess he deserves some respect now, even thought he's a bloody vamp. It was with his contacts that got this mess mostly sorted out, first with the police and then organizing and paying for Giles' funeral. God knows that neither my parents nor I have the money to do so, and neither really does Mrs Summers as she still has a rather large mortgage to pay off. As for Willow, her parents are never here really, and Willow only has enough to pay for school and her own basic needs._

Xander brooded to himself, but in no way did he consider himself starting to imitate the vampire with a soul. Xander watched the coffin being lowered into the ground slowly, even as he heard Buffy wail out in her sorrow.

"It's not fair! Why him, why Giles mum? Why did he have to die? What did he do to deserve to die?" Buffy cried out, even as she was hugged by her loving mother Joyce, while Willow hovered nearby to offer her support.

"I don't know honey. Sometimes bad things happen to even good people like Giles." Joyce Summers replied to her distraught daughter as calmly and evenly as she could.

"But, why? It should've have been me…" Buffy cried out again.

"Buffy, it wasn't your fault!" Willow protested at Buffy's sense of guilt at her failure to save the Watcher.

"Yes Buffy, please listen to your friend Willow. There was nothing you could have done to save him." Joyce replied, somewhat still unknowing of how EXACTLY Giles had died, in what circumstances, and what her daughter did at night to protect the town.

"But…"Buffy started before she was cut off by her mother.

"There was nothing you could have done. If you tried, then it might be you we would be in mourning for." Joyce replied quiet softly and scared for her daughter's welfare, as she started to realize somehow that it could be just as easily be Buffy who was dead, and being lowered into the ground.

"Mum…" Buffy started before she hugged her mother again, Joyce returning the embrace back with love, and even this time Willow managed to join in and hugged Buffy with reassurance that the Slayer wasn't alone.

The whole of Giles' funeral went past Xander like a blur. First came the lowering of the Watcher's coffin into its final resting place. Then, came the sight of Buffy being comforted by her mother and Willow. The next thing Xander knew was he was back at the Summer's residence for the wake.

"Xander, are you okay?" Some one said with a concerned and feminine voice from one side. Xander didn't know who it was at first, being in quite a large mental funk, but quickly realized who it was once he turned to direction that the sound of the voice was coming from.

"Huh?" Was Xander's articulate reply, as he realized it was Cordelia Chase of all people, who was asking whether he was okay or not.

"Are you okay Xander?" Cordelia asked again softly even as she recognised that Xander was woefully out of sorts.

"I'm…I….I don't know Cordy. I really don't know." Xander replied honestly to Cordy's concerned question.

"Do you want to talk?" Cordelia asked, despite being the Queen C of Sunnydale high, she was really concerned about the way Xander was acting.

"I don't know Cor. I looked up to him, Giles I mean, and now he's gone. I…ah…I just really don't know how to feel. How should I act? God, what do I say to Buffy? She's lost Giles too. And she was probably much closer to him than I was." Xander babbled. And knew he was babbling too, but couldn't help himself.

_God, I almost sound like Willow! I won't blame Cordy if she tells me to get lost and calls me a loser again! _Xander thought miserably to himself, but to his great surprise, Cordelia didn't jump down his throat or call him names. Instead she showed great symphony for him.

"I don't know either Xander. But I'm here if you need me." Cordelia replied as she hugged Xander to let him know he wasn't really alone.

"Gee…I….thanks Cordy. I just wish that things were….you know….different." Xander managed to get his reply out.

"Yeah. Me too." Cordelia replied quietly, as the pair continued to comfort each other in their embrace.

After the wake, Xander insisted on going home, despite Buffy's protests and Joyce's offer for him to spend the night in the spare room. But Xander had politely declined, saying that he needed some time alone, just to come to grip with his feelings let alone somehow telling his folks what had happened. Willow and Cordelia were concerned, but Xander told them he would be okay. _Eventually_. Buffy offered to escort Xander home and Xander reluctantly agreed, as being in the emotional state that he was in currently, he would be easy pickings for any passing vampire. Eventually the pair of them reached Xander's destination, having made the trip in complete silence, both were being consumed by their own thoughts and feelings on the way.

"So. I guess this is the end of the line." Xander managed to croak out to the Slayer.

"Yeah, I guess so." Buffy managed to reply in a somewhat shaky voice as her emotions threatened to get out of control once again.

"So how did we get here Buff? What made things go all the way to hell?" Xander asked out loud, as he still couldn't believe that the G-Man was gone.

"I don't know Xan." Buffy replied sadly.

"Are you going to be okay getting home?" Xander asked his friend, concerned about her mental state, and whether or not the vampires in this town would consider her a temporarily easy target.

"I'll be fine." The Slayer tried to reassure him, but Xander wasn't really buying it.

"But Buff. You need time. Hell, we all do. Going on patrol will be a very stupid idea." Xander protested, but only managed to get the Slayer's hackles up.

"I'll handle it Xan. I said I'll be fine." The Slayer replied firmly.

"Buffy….I don't want to see you getting hurt…or worse…not so close after losing the G-Man." Xander replied quietly.

"Xander…." Buffy replied more softly as Xander's words managed to get through to her somehow.

"Please Buff. At least, wait a few days. I'm sure Angel can cover patrolling the town for a few days." Xander replied.

"What? No Deadboy name calling?" The Slayer managed to smile and joke weakly at her friend.

"Awww Buffs….." Xander managed as he looked embarrassed

"Xan…" Buffy started before she was interrupted by Xander.

"Look Buffs. I've never trusted or liked Dead…ah Angel. Not because of who he is, but WHAT he is. Are you with me so far?" Xander asked as he explained.

"Yes…" Buffy replied even as she frowned as she wondered where Xander was going with all of this.

"But Angel managed to take care of Giles and pay for the funeral…we…I ….I guess I owe him for that, and I guess that's good enough for me to cut him some slack." Xander said to the confusion of the Slayer.

"Oh." Was all Buffy could reply with to that. She wasn't really sure what Xander's point was.

"Don't get me wrong. I'll still watch him like a hawk and not trust him. Like hello! Even as a good guy, he's still a vamp. But….I'm guessing what I'm saying is… well, I'll try to treat him with more respect from now on." Xander finally finished.

"Really?" Buffy asked, not sure she could believe what she heard Xander saying.

"Yeah. I owe him that much at least. But that doesn't mean we'll be friends though." Xander replied.

"Okay. Understandable I guess. So it'll have to do." Buffy replied somewhat calmly, knowing this was the best she was going to get at the moment.

"I'll better get inside before I wake my folks up. You going to be okay getting home?" Xander asked with concern.

"Sure Xan. I've got my lucky stake and axe here." Buffy replied, even as she showed Xander her weapons (No NOT THOSE you bunch of perverts! LOL).

"I pity the vampires who try to jump me tonight." Buffy said, somewhat darkly.

"Please be safe Buffy. Don't take any unnecessary risks." Xander cautioned Buffy.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Good night Xander." Buffy said, as she headed home.

"Good night Buffy." Xander replied softly, before sneaking back into his home.

The day of Giles' funeral really was a dark time for the scoobies. But it was an even darker one for Xander Harris. The scoobies had lost a great friend. Buffy lost a mentor and trainer, as well as a great ally against the darkness all rolled into one. Buffy was distraught. Willow was scared as well as a bit too angry. Angel was concerned about his beloved Buffy and how the death of her Watcher would affect the Slayer. Cordelia was saddened by Giles' death. But Xander…Xander was well and truly PISSED off. He had lost a man he saw more as a father than his own. One who would put up with his lousy jokes, even though he wouldn't stand for the G-Man moniker.

He made a vow after the death of his best friend Jesse at the hands of Darla, but once again he found out that he was too weak to protect and save the ones he loves. And was quietly furious at his very own impotency. Once Xander got back inside, he quickly went down to the basement and quickly set up his own plan of action. He quickly went down to the floor, and started to do some push ups to vent his own anger and frustration before going to sleep.

_No more! NO BLOODY MORE! From now on, there will be no mercy! Buffy and Willow are really the only family I have left now, and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to them, like it happened to first Jesse and now Giles. I'll need to get off my slack butt and do something, like get some real training or do proper gym work or something. As things stand, I'm still too weak to take on the night life here in Sunnydale, despite my Halloween possession. _Xander thought to himself as he mentally vowed to do whatever it would take to protect the rest of his family. Xander was in the process of completing a whole serious of push ups, and he was currently sweating like a pig, due to the strenuous nature of the work out that he was pushing himself through.

Xander now slept in the basement of his parents' home, having being forced to move down there a while ago by his drunken father and drug addict mother so that they could use his bedroom as an attic so to speak, to store some of their useless crap and junk that Xander's parents couldn't bear the thought of throwing away. Xander wasn't too fussed about the move thought, despite being angry at the cold way his parents were treating him.

_At least the basement is bigger, and the fact is my parents are either too lazy or too drunk to come down here, so I have a nice and safe hiding to store my weapons. I'm guessing if dear old dad found a fully functional SOCOM, FA-MAS, Chaff grenades as well as 'Live' C-4, it wouldn't really go down too well with the drunken bastard. _Xander thought to himself as he thanked the powers to be for small mercies. Xander continued his push up routines, even as he thought about how to obtain more ammunition for his SOCOM and the FA-MAS.

_Getting ammo for the SO-COM and the FA-MAS is going to be a neat trick to accomplish. Both are pretty much special forces weapons, and I doubt the weapons nor the ammo are generally sold to the public. Hmmmm…there is an army depot in town, but the security there should be enough to stop any locals getting to frisky. But the question is, is it enough to stop someone who has the memories and skills of someone who was possessed by Solid Snake? _Xander asked himself, even as he went over mentally the possibility of raiding the local army depot for more ammunition for his newly acquired weapons.

END OF CHAPTER 13


	14. Chapter 14 The Raid Part I

A/N – I'll be attempting to have the scoobie gang think and talk more American like, lol, but this will be my first attempt at this so expect plenty of mistakes lol.

A/N 2 – Of course if I find this slows down the story too much or makes a mess of things, I'm going back to my previous style and BOLLOCKS to US Language conventions so there ROFL : )

CHAPTER 14 – The Raid Part I

**Previously…**

_Getting ammo for the SO-COM and the FA-MAS is going to be a neat trick to accomplish. Both are pretty much Special Forces weapons, and I seriously doubt that the weapons or the ammo will be generally sold to the public. Hmmmm…there is an army depot in town, but the security there should be enough to stop any locals getting too frisky. But the question is; is it enough to stop someone who has the memories and skills of someone who was possessed by Solid Snake? _Xander asked himself, even as he went over mentally the possibility of raiding the local army depot for more ammunition for his newly acquired weapons.

**And now….**

Xander further considered the possibility of raiding the local army depot for more ammunition for his new weapons in the fight against the forces of darkness. Xander knew that he had to be careful not to goof up or there would be some heavy fallout heading his way, should such a complete and utter stuff up occur.

_Hell, getting into the army base will be a piece of cake as compared to getting the 'loot' out of the base undetected and un-burdened. Hell, most of the ammo will be tightly packed in army crates, and those babies aren't going to be light or easy to handle. Plus I've got to make sure I don't get caught by the local MPs and good old Sunnydale PD. Even those folks, bad as they are, would be sure to get all bent out of shape if they ever managed to catch me packing such heavy heat. _Xander thought to himself.

_Then there's the fact that I'll need a get away car, as I'm sure as hell not going to carry all that ammo back home on foot! I'll need something that will do the job, but not make people get all roused up. Hmmm…My uncle Rory has a Beemer, but that would be too noticeable, not to mention too memorable, with such a flashy car. Tony has a beat up old clunker, but it's likely to croak half way back, and I don't want to deal with a pissed off Dad if the shit really hits the fan. Perhaps I should just boost one? That way, it won't be traced back to me if I'm careful enough, and then I can lay low and avoid the fuzz as well as the heat. _Xander thought to himself as he though up all the possible ways he could now boost a car, thanks to the skills he had gained from Solid Snake after his Halloween adventure.

But before Xander could make the raid on the army depot, he knew that he had some serious planning to do before hand in order to make the raid a success, otherwise it'll all be for nothing, and his entire life will be nothing but one complete and utter screw up.

_Hell, I'll need to know what exactly I'm up against before I even think about going in. Security cameras and other measures, the number of guards and patrols, routes for the patrols, times of shift changes for the guards and patrols, hell no doubt the army depot will have search lights, guard dogs, and other assorted nasty tricks to keep all that sweet hardware safe. Still, just by casing the base for the next few days should give me a clue as to the shift and patrol changes, thanks to my IR goggles I retained from Halloween by somehow remaining real like his SO-COM and the ex military scope binoculars that my Dad had somehow managed to forget he had stashed in the basement._ Xander thought, as he mentally compiled a list of what he needed to do, and what equipment was needed for the raid on the army depot. Xander knew he needed some dark colored clothes, so he could blend into the surroundings when he made his late night raid, as he was no fool. There was no way he would be raiding the army depot during the day. Even in Sunnydale with its flaky and no doubt corrupt cops as well as the so – called Sunnydale Syndrome.

_Still, there is a need for a get away car, and what kind of wheels I'm likely to get, and what kind I'm likely to NEED. Both are two very different things. _Xander thought a bit about what kind of wheels he needed for his mission, before he had a sudden flashback to the events that occurred just before the Halloween madness.

****FLASHBACK****

The school halls of Sunnydale High were decorated for Halloween, and were currently buzzing with Students moving to and from class. A long table had been set up with signs that had very lame slogans such as "VOLUNTEERS ARE WINNERS" as well as the all time lame classic "SAFE AND SANE HALLOWEEN." A couple of students were sitting behind the table, armed with a couple of pens and sign up sheets.

Xander, Buffy and Willow were walking in the direction of the table, when all three witnessed Principal Snyder grabbing an unsuspecting young girl who was just casually passing by the said table.

"Hey!" The girl protested, but with no avail.

"You're volunteering." Snyder remarked coldly with a bit of a sneer at the student.

"But I have to get to class – " The girl started to protest again, but was cut off by Snyder steering the girl to the sign up table. Willow, Buffy and Xander witnessed all this, before Willow remarked.

"Snyder must be in charge of the volunteer safety program for Halloween this year."

"Well, duh!" Buffy replied somewhat sarcastically, even as Xander added his two cents worth.

"Note his interesting take on the 'Volunteer' concept."

"What's the deal?" Buffy asked.

"A bunch of little snot nosed kids need people to take them trick-or-treating. Sign up and you get your very own pack of sugar hyped rug rats for the night." Xander replied, trying to keep a straight face.

"Yikes, I'll just stick to the Vamps." Buffy remarked, somewhat alarmed at the prospect of escorting other people's kids for trick-or-treating.

A hand suddenly was felt on her shoulder. Buffy turned away from Xander and saw that it was Principal Snyder. And he was currently not looking too pleased to see her.

"Ah, Miss Summers. Just the juvenile delinquent I've been looking for."

"Principal Snyder …" Buffy began before she was cut off by the mean principal.

"Halloween must be a big night for you, huh? Tossing eggs, keying cars, bobbing for apples. One pathetic cry for help after another. Well not this year, Missy." Snyder said firmly as he lead Buffy to the table, while Xander and Willow followed behind.

"Gosh, I'd love to volunteer, but I recently developed…carpal tunnel syndrome and tragically, I can no longer hold a flash light…" Buffy tried to get herself out of volunteering, but Snyder was having none of it as he held up a pen for her.

"The program starts at four and the children have to be home by six thirty. As for you two…." Snyder remarked, even as he held out another two pens, one for Willow and Xander.

"Doh!" Xander remarked, even as he face palmed.

Later….

Buffy, Willow and Xander met up at the School lounge and discussed the situation with the Troll and the whole Halloween escort duty thing.

"I can't believe this. We have to dress up and the whole deal?" Xander moaned.

"Snyder said the costumes were mandatory." Willow replied.

"Great, I was going to stay in and veg. It's the one night a year that things are supposed to be quiet for me." Buffy complained.

"Halloween, quiet? I figured it would just be a big old Vamp Scare-a-Palooza." Xander remarked.

"Not according to Giles." Buffy sighed, then continued. " He swears that tomorrow night is, like, dead for the un-dead. They stay in."

"Those wacky vampires. That's what I love about 'em. They just keep you guessing." Xander joked lamely.

"Still, what are we going to do about about old Fuhrer Snyder?" Xander asked.

"Xander! Sssh! He might hear you!" Willow squeaked out, afraid her friend would catch a month's worth of detentions if the Troll had overheard Xander's remark.

"Seriously Wills! The Troll's on a damned power trip and the bastard really needs to be taken down or decked or something." Xander replied.

"Xander…" Buffy warned but Xander still hadn't finished saying his piece.

"Look guys, all I'm saying is that it isn't right what he's doing around here. Someone should make him pay for his evil deeds." Xander said with a tight grin.

"Yeah, but who Xan? Godzilla?" Buffy remarked with a tight smile of her own.

****END OF FLASH BACK****

Xander then had a feral grin at the memory, as he decided he just had a 'volunteer' for the car boosting. Xander knew it would be the perfect pay back for the Troll if he boosted the principal's car and used it for his weapons heist at the Army depot. What's more, Xander knew that the principal had a rather robust, yet sturdy, station wagon for a car and would have plenty of space in the back. It wasn't as flashy as his Uncle's Beemer, but it would get the job done well enough.

_And if any shit happens to fall upon the Troll's head, it will be the perfect payback for all the crap that the Troll has put us Scoobies through over the last year and a bit! _Xander thought viciously, even as he fantasied about the Military Police dragging the Troll away for questioning over the stolen firearms he would later steal from the base.

Xander had already thought of stealing the Troll's station wagon at the school, but decided that was too risky, as any number of students could spot him and then either decide to hold him to ransom or just plain sell him out to Snyder. No. Xander had no need to do that. He had previously snuck into the main office using his Halloween stealth skills and managed to acquire the Principal's address from the school employee contacts register. Xander had successfully acquired that intelligence without being detected, and so got himself ready to put the first phase of his plan into action.

_Ha, ha! Maybe I should just throw some random piles of actual dust around the 'crime scene' and the fools that call themselves cops in this town will just chalk it up to another gang on PCP related activity. _Xander thought, as he serious considered doing something like that when he stole the Troll's car to throw any possible suspicion away from himself.

_But really, what kind of idiots would believe a vamp would boost a car, anyways? Still, it's better than being investigated my self and then facing time in the slammer. _

Xander thought, even as he went ahead and decided to plant his false 'evidence' at the scene.

**15 minutes later…..**

Principal Snyder heard the screeching of tires as a car took off and burned away down the street, burning rubber like the devil itself was following hot on its heels. Snyder paused a moment, when he heard that noise from inside his house. He knew the noise was close. It was very close. With a start, Principal Snyder realized that it had originated from his driveway. With a yell, the Troll ran outside, to realize his beloved station wagon was now gone.

_I bet this is the doing of that delinquent Buffy Summers! I knew that girl was trouble, the first time I lay my eyes on her! And her friends are no doubt part of all this trouble! When, I get to school tomorrow. I'll…_Principal Snyder's mental ramblings of rage was cut off when he noticed the piles of dust that Xander had 'left' at the scene. Principal Snyder saw this, and quickly swallowed a lump of fear as he realized what it meant, as unlike the majority of the citizens in Sunnydale, Snyder actually knew what happened in town after dark.

_PCP! Gang members on PCP! Well Missy, I guess that delinquent Summers isn't responsible for this after all! Still, I'll take this up with Mayor Wilkins next time I see him. How am I going to get to work and keep the LITTLE terrors in line without it?_ _Damn it, I need that car_. Snyder thought, even as he scurried back inside his home quickly in fear, and tightly bolted then locked the door behind him.

END OF CHAPTER 14


	15. Chapter 15 The Raid Part II

CHAPTER 15 – The Raid Part II

Xander arrived at the local army depot base in his stolen wheels and quickly parked to the far side of the road. It wouldn't be close enough to the base to raise any suspicions of the local guards, but it would be close enough for Xander to carry over any of his loot over without too much hassle or risk of being spotted by some of the guards.

Xander quickly pulled out his binoculars first, quickly followed by his IR goggles and efficiently went to work in determining the best course of action in infiltrating the base, acquiring his objectives then ex-filtrating without being detected. He took his time to notice the light sentry towers, as well as the heavy looking, barbed wire fences that surrounded the army base.

_Hmmm. The security on this base doesn't look that bad, but it doesn't look that hot either. It appears to be that someone must have placed some decent security measures into this base at one point. Although the number of guard patrol routes seem to be a bit low. I see only one patrolling guard at this point, and thankfully no trained Guard Dogs. Some of those 'puppies' could ruin my day real quick. _Xander thought to himself as he continued to assess the situation.

_Well it looks like the security for this base was top notch when the Army Depot was first built, but it looks slightly lacking at the moment. AND that isn't really suspicious at all – NOT! It almost seems to be a trap. Hell, it's like these army guys are just asking for their hardware to be boosted! All I can see is two sentry towers and their search lights, with a couple of security cameras, both moving cameras. Though I shouldn't complain about that!_

Xander knew from Solid Snake's memories that moving Security Cameras could easily be by-passed because of the blind spot directly underneath them. All he had to do was to wait for the camera to move into the opposite direction, and then he would run like hell and hide himself directly underneath the Camera, where he wouldn't be spotted. When the Camera went in the other direction, Xander would be free to make his move further into the base, without being detected.

_At least by the frigging cameras at any rate! All I need is for some lousy guard or patrol to come around when I am pulling that particular trick and they're instantly going to know some things up. Even these morons wouldn't miss someone trying to deliberately avoid being spotted by the cameras in such a way. Even with the night time 'sneaking clothes' and Sunnydale Syndrome. Hell, getting caught wearing such a get up is going to cause a lot of unwanted questions I just don't really need right now! _

Thankfully, Xander had been casing the place out for the last few nights and got a reasonable feel to the timing of the shift changes for the guards and the patrols around the base, and the Xan-Man was feeling confident about avoiding them. The real trick was to combine avoiding the guards, keeping out of the search lights as well as avoiding being caught on a security camera. For the average Joe, Xander knew this task would be beyond them. But Xander was no longer the average Joe, no matter what the other Scoobies liked to think, and in this situation Xander was prepared to take full advantage of that fact.

It was while Xander was focusing on his study of the guard patrols and their timing, the movement of the sentry light towers and the sweeping patterns of the search lights, he suffered another memory flashback of Solid Snake's experiences, and this time was actually when Snake first infiltrated the Nuclear Weapon Disposal Facility at Shadow Moses Island.

*****FLASH BACK*****

Snake quickly took off his scuba gear, even as the elevator took him all the way up to the surface. Snake watches the landscape slide by as the elevator ascends, ever on the look out for a trap or an enemy ambush. Eventually, to Snake's relief, no sudden enemy attack came, and Snake reached the surface without mishap. And more importantly with out detection by the enemy. The elevator arrived at it's destination and Snake quickly ran off, only to take cover behind a large storage create, which hid him quite well from the prying eyes of the Next Generation Special Forces that were stationed outside on guard duty.

"It's Snake. I'm in front of the disposal facility." Snake activated his Codec, and gave a brief sit-rep.

"Excellent, Snake. Age hasn't slowed you down one bit." Colonel Campbell complemented Snake.

"How's that Sneaking Suit working out?" A feminine voice asked, one that belonged to one Doctor Naomi Hunter.

"I'm nice and dry, but it is a little bit hard to move." Snake half complained, half whined in self pity.

"Bear with it. It's designed to prevent hypothermia. This is Alaska you know." Dr Hunter replied with a sigh.

"Take it easy, I'm grateful. If it wasn't for your suit and your shots, I would have turned into a Popsicle out there." Snake replied.

"It's called an Anti-Freezing peptide Snake. All the Genome Solders in this exercise are using it." Dr Hunter corrected Snake.

"I'm relieved to hear that. All ready tested huh? By the way, how's the diversionary operation going?" Snake asked, and the Colonel answered.

"Two F-16s just took off from Galena and are heading your way. The terrorist's radar should have already picked them up."

The next part of the memory flashed by Xander pretty fast, all he got was a glimpse of a Hind-D being at the base, a pretty technical explanation of the Soliton Radar system from Mei Ling that went over both Snake's and Xander's heads, as well as a general introduction to the beautiful visual and data processor and designer courtesy of Colonel Campbell. There was the usual standard of flirting with both Dr Hunter and Mei Ling by Snake, before Xander was able to focus back on the memory of the actual infiltration of the base.

Snake pulled out his binoculars and began to observe the front of the disposal facility, quietly observing the guards' movements, their patrols, the various security measures employed at the base, as well as noting the patterns of the search lights that were mounted upon the second level walkway above the front doors.

"If you want to get in, there's the front door. It's the fastest way, but there's too much risk of being spotted by the enemy." Colonel Campbell told Snake over the Codec.

"I can't just knock on the door and ask them to let me in." Snake replied sarcastically before he continued to observe the nuclear weapons disposal facility.

"Hmmmm. There is one sentry on the left and one on the right. They're armed with 'five five sixers' and pineapples. "Snake replied even as he continued to observe the front of the Shadow Moses Island, this time taking careful note of all the places where he could take cover and hide from detection on his approach to the facility.

"What about the air duct near the door?" The Colonel suggested to Snake.

"It looks guarded. That one sentry appears to be stationery and holding his position." Snake reported back to Colonel Campbell.

"What about the second duct? According to our limited intelligence, there should also be a second duct shaft on the second level of the walkway." Colonel Campbell told Snake.

Snake took this opportunity to observe the second level walkway of the facility's front with his binoculars but quickly found his view to be blocked by the railing of the walkway. Snake then quietly groaned at his frustration at his sight being blocked.

"I can't see it from here." Snake grumbled quietly underneath his breath, even as he lowered his binoculars, and once again took cover and hid behind a large that Snake first took refuge behind after he got off that elevator that brought him up to the surface.

"Well I'll let you decide the best COA (Course of Action). I'm counting on you Snake." Colonel Campbell told Snake, even as he cut off contact with Snake via the Codec.

******END OF FLASHBACK*****

Xander came back to reality after his little memory playback. He continued to observe the army base with the binoculars. Much to his annoyance, there were no air duct or air shafts for him to quietly crawl into to easily infiltrate the Army Depot.

_Like, I would even catch such a nifty break of luck. Ha! Anyway it appears that I will, probably won't even need any air ducts or shafts, at least not on this mission anyways. And if the shit really does hit the fan, then no amount of air ducts are going to save my worthless butt anyway. _Xander thought a bit grimly before continuing to brood. _Of course, if there is an available cardboard box or two handy, well then that's a whole other story! _Xander grinned to himself, as he remembered Snake's patented Cardboard Box Trick™ to get himself out of tight jams when threatened with detection by Next Generation Special Forces.

Xander next tried his infrared goggles, more in a moment of paranoia that he had inherited from his Solid Snake possession than anything else. Thanks to Solid Snake's memories, Xander now knew of infrared Sensor beams and other similar measures. Xander decided to check the base for any such devices, but was both relieved and disappointed to find that the Army Depot was lacking such security measures.

_Man, the security on this base isn't really up to today's standards at all. If I didn't know better, this whole damned situation is one giant trap waiting to be sprung on my helpless butt. Minimum patrols, minimum security systems barring the basics, and only a couple of towers, with one of them on the far side of base, with no chance of spotting me if I'm careful enough. Hell, the second tower should pose no problem either if I can manage to stay out of the search light. _Xander thought as he assessed the situation being extremely doable, although he was still extremely suspicious at the light security for a US Army base.

_I shouldn't really complain, but I just can't helped that dang feeling that the other shoe is about to drop. I only wish I knew what exactly that other 'shoe' was. _Xander finished his mental ramblings as well as his spying, and decided now or never, that he was going in and going to get himself some sweet hardware.

Crouching low, Xander cautiously and yet quickly, approached to the side of the base. It was just off to one side of the Security Tower nearest to him, and it just happened to be in the blind spot of the Tower, that Xander had noticed thanks to his Solid Snake memories. Xander examined the wire fence, and was relived and troubled to find that the fence wasn't even electrified.

_What the hell? Not even an electric fence? Fuck. It doesn't look like the fence is wired to an alarm system to trip off if the perimeter is breached either. Damn it, something's hellmouthy here. The security of this base is far too lax. Still, I need that frigging ammo if I'm going to help out. And this is the only place to get it. _Xander thought as he took a quiet and deep breath. _Once more into the breach I go…_

Xander managed to cut quietly through the barbed wire fence with the wire cutters that he had brought along, while holding his breath until he realized he was indeed correct about the fence not being either alarmed or electrified. Snake's memories told him that a properly secured base would either have one or probably both of those security measures, especially if it was a highly valuable or secure base.

Xander paused for a moment as he watched the search light from the nearest Tower, sweep the area in front of him. Xander looked at his watch, and knew from his recent observations that the guard shift had just changed, and he had another 20 minutes before the patrols would start again. He had to be quick. Xander waited for the probing lights to move away from his direction, and Xander dashed towards a nearby shed, still crouched, and using every stealth technique that he had remembered from Solid Snake's memories. Xander hugged the Shed's wall, as he knew that there was a security camera just around the corner, thankfully a moving one, so Xander knew it wouldn't be too hard to avoid it.

Xander indeed found it rather easy to avoid the camera. It was too easy in fact. Xander relied upon Snake's memories again and used the blind spot that was underneath the said camera. Having got past the security camera, Xander managed to avoid the camera and then ran off to a nearby building he had spotted as the main supply room. Xander crouched down, and hugged himself tightly against one wall, as a search beam came past, but thankfully Xander had kept himself well out of it's range, and thus detection by the base guards. The Xan-Man quietly crept up to the front door of the storage shed, only to find it securely locked, and requiring a numbered security key pass of all things. It looked exactly like a Personal Area Network Security Card System. And until Xander managed to get level one security card, there was no way in hell he would be opening that door.

_What the hell! It's those fucking PAN cards again! Straight from Shadow Moses Island! Just what the hell is going on here? _Xander mentally asked himself. _Damn it, I knew my luck was too good to be true. Guess they have some security here after all. Dang it, now what the fuck am I supposed to do?_

END OF CHAPTER 15


End file.
